


Two Truths and A Lie

by SkieNight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Daichi really wants to solve this case, Everyone just wants this case to be over, I don't really know..., I mean like I could roast a cow with a single match faster than this slow burn, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Oikawa is not a therapist, Panic Attacks, Past Forced Prostitution, Past Rape/Non-con, Slow Burn, Suga's just trying to get by, What am I doing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2018-10-17 13:29:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 120,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10594980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkieNight/pseuds/SkieNight
Summary: A dead body is found in an alleyway beside a restaurant.Daichi just wants to solve this case, while Suga just wants to keep the life that he's built for himself.(Basically a Major Crimes AU that no asked for and I ended up writing anyway. Suga works at a restaurant. Daichi is the Captain of the L.A. homicide division.  Murder and chaos ensue.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is my first fic (I generally write original fiction) so I apologize for anything and everything.
> 
> A few quick things  
> \- Ages are totally messed up and not realistic  
> \- This takes place in L.A. because I am most familiar with the US legal and justice systems  
> \- I will try to warn about any possible triggers in chapters, if I miss anything let me know  
> \- The "romance" in this is really going to be in the second half. The first half is really plot driven. Sorry if you don't like it.  
> \- Thank you to my good friend Rudolphsd who edited this for me and made me post it, I couldn't do it without you  
> \- Enjoy, or don't, I'm not your boss
> 
> TW: foul language, hints of past abuse, death

_Friday, June 17, 2011_  
_2:47 am_

  
“This way!”

Koushi ducked into the shadows of the alley and glanced over his shoulder. No one was there. He peered back around the corner and watched a girl stumbled under the light of a street lamp. Darting back out onto the quiet street, Koushi threw her arm over his shoulder and pulled her into the shadows of the alleyway.

“How are you feeling, Yui?” he asked, setting her down beside a dumpster and crouching next to her. The hot feeling of eyes danced over his back. He looked over his shoulder, but all he saw was the wall of the dumpster. Shoving any unnecessary fears away, he turned back to Yui.

She looked up and threw him one of her dazzling smiles. No matter how wide her lips stretched and how bright her eyes shined, the paleness of her skin and the dark green bruise on her cheek were impossible to ignore. “I’m fine, I just got a bit dizzy back there. Let’s get going.”

Yui went to stand but Koushi guided her back down, eyes locked on the ugly bruise. “No, you’re not fine. Is your side still bothering you?”

“Just a stitch,” she said with a wave of her hand.

Shaking his head, Koushi pulled the side of her blouse up. She forced out a dry giggle and batted at his hand in a way that should have been playful except for how forcefully she had hit him. “Come now Koushi, you know the rules. You have to buy me dinner at _least_!”

She was quick, but he hadn’t missed the hint of purple and green along her side trailing up to her ribcage. From her shallow breathing, he could only guess how far the bruising continued up her torso.

“We can take a few minutes to rest,” he said.

“No, seriously. I’m-”

“It’s fine. We’ll get farther if we take a break now than if you pass out and I have to carry you.” He plopped down next to her and his head fell back against the plaster wall. “Besides, I need to breathe too.”

They sat in silence, taking deep breaths and letting the mucky air of the city fill their lungs. The night was warm and the air dry, a glimpse of the hot summer that was to come. Sweat dripped down Koushi’s forehead and back, and he was sure Yui was feeling the same. A car drove by. They drew together, pushing their backs against the wall, but it didn’t slow, just rumbled on through the darkness, unaware of the two people hiding in the shadows.

“How far are we going to go?” Yui’s gentle voice broke the silence.

Koushi stared off at the wall across from him and tucked a strand of silver hair behind his ear. “However far it takes. Maybe across town. Maybe across the state. Maybe across the country, if we can make it.”

She turned to him, eyes wide and glimmering with hope that looked yellow in the light of the street. “You really think we’ll make it?”

He met her gaze, held it, then nodded. “I do.”

A car door slammed in the distance, and Koushi was on his feet before he could blink. He helped Yui up. She swayed before Koushi threw an arm around her shoulder and began leading her down the alley.

“Search the area, they’re nearby!” A gruff and distant voice yelled

Koushi cursed under his breath and started a light jog, dragging Yui with him.

“H-how did he find us?” She gasped as they turned and raced down another street illuminated only by the flashing signs and the occasional stop light.

Koushi glanced around. There was no one on the sidewalk and the only two cars on the street were parked. They had spent most of the night in the shadows. They hadn’t been seen. No one had even been out to identify them, but now, as they hobbled alone on the street, Koushi found himself wishing for a crowd and wondering how the hell they had been followed.

Koushi glanced to the bag in clutched in Yui’s free hand and the bag over his shoulder. “Shit!” He tossed his bag off the side and turned the girl currently clinging to him. “Yui, toss your bag.”

She stopped and he stopped with her. “What?”

“Toss your bag. Now. They’re tracking our phones.” He ran a clammy hand down his face then brushed his bangs back. “Fuck! I should’ve realized sooner.”

Yui clung to her bag with trembling hands. “B-but what about the money… and our things.”

“Drop it. We don’t have time.”

There was another yell that echoed somewhere behind them. Koushi looked from Yui to the alleyway from which they had just run then back to the bag. “Yui, you have to let go of the bag.”

“No.”

“That’s not an option. We’re not going to make it if you don’t let go of the bag.”

“And you’re not going to make it if you keep dragging me along!” Koushi frowned and opened his mouth to protest but Yui was quick to continue. “Don’t. Don’t even begin to come up with some bullshit excuse. I’m slowing you down. I have been from the beginning. This was your plan and you need to finish it.”

“It was _our_ plan. I-I can’t just leave you.”

The look on Yui’s face was no longer the look of a tired, scared girl following a foggy dream. It was the look of someone on a mission: her jaw was set, and her eyes were narrowed in on a prize only she could see. She looked to Koushi and smiled, the soft kind that should have been cut out of her years ago. The kind only the strong can replicate. “Koushi, go. I’ll hold these guys off for as long as I can.”

“But if they drag you back…”

“I’ll be happy knowing one of us got away.” There was another yell, closer, this time from around the corner. “Now go…” She looked around, Koushi did too, but there was nowhere to go. Anywhere Koushi could run they could run. They were as good as trapped, until Yui spotted something by the bus stop they had stopped next to. “Trashcan. Now.”

Koushi wanted to complain, fight back, tell her to get in, but Yui had that look in her eyes, which meant that any argument he brought up was lost before it began. She lifted the lid and he slipped inside. The bin was half full of food wrappers, a handful of aluminum cans, and whatever else pedestrians needed tossed. The smell was horrendous and thick and hot, but it wasn’t has bad as half of the shit Koushi had put up with in the last two and half years so he held his breath as Yui resettled the lid. The raised lid allowed some air movement across the top, and provided a vantage point, if Koushi was brave enough to use it.

Koushi froze and leaned against the can, listening as footsteps approached.

“Found you,” a man said, his voice all too familiar though Koushi had trouble picturing his face.

There were a few huffs and the scraping and scratching that came with a struggle. It took all of Koushi’s will not to jump up right there. _Yui’s got this_ , he reminded himself, _she’s dealt with this shit a lot longer than I have._

The struggling ended with a crack of something, flesh probably, against the concrete and Koushi took in a sharp breath, biting down on the soft pad of his palm to keep from whimpering. More footsteps neared and the stopped abruptly.

“I found the bitch!” It was the same man who attacked Yui. A face came to mind: André. Koushi didn’t know him well, but he’d seen him around.

“And the second one?” The second voice sent violent shivers though Koushi’s body, and he suddenly felt sick. It took two or three deep breaths through his nose and out his mouth, to will himself not to throw up.

“Found his backpack, but nothing else.” André spat. There was the sound of heels against concrete. “I bet this bitch knows where he is.”

There was a sharp intake of breath and a hiss of pain. “The name’s Yui. But if you pay me you can call me _whatever_ you like.”

The slap of skin hitting skin echoed down the road followed by another gasp. “Whore,” André spat. More steps echoed, drawing near to the trashcan before turning away

“I won’t ask again,” that familiar voice echoed, deep and gentle yet sharp as a knife. “Where is Koushi Sugawara?” The question was quiet, but the words were pointed, as if each one was a dart waiting to hit its mark. Another violent wave of nausea shook Koushi to his bones and bile gathered at the back of his throat.

  
Yui clicked her tongue. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The clear echo of a second slap pounded through Koushi’s ears. He curled forward, pressing his forehead against the metal as he swallowed the bitterness and took two more deep breaths. This was his fault. _I’m here. Right here._ He wanted to scream it to the heavens. But he couldn’t move, every muscle in his body was rigid. He had made a promise not to say anything or to give himself away. If he did, Yui would only get into more trouble for lying.

On top of that, he was a coward. He could never face them.

“I don’t like it when my _things_ run away,” the second man spat, and Koushi gnawed at the flesh of his palm until the metallic taste of blood mixed with the bitter taste of bile in a terrible concoction that made his stomach flip again “And when they do, I get angry. You won’t like me angry. However, if you tell me where Koushi is I might reconsider.”

“Do I look like a snitch?” Yui hissed.

“No, but you do look smart. That’s why I got you in the first place. Smart and pretty. Men like that.”

“I am smart.” Yui’s words sounded almost sweet. “Smart enough to know that he’s better off as far away as possible.”

There was a moment of silence, then Yui gasped and gagged. Koushi curled into a tighter ball, pressing his forehead against the warm metal.

“You get one more chance. Where is Koushi Sugawara?”

Silence.

“Dumb bitch.” There was a gasp and Yui coughed twice. Some of the tightness in Koushi’s chest dissipated as footsteps walked away.

“Tomi,” the man said, his footsteps clicking alongside the trashcan. “Take care of the girl.” Koushi frowned at the thought. Tomi, the boss’s right hand man, lacked as much backbone as he did brain.

“What d’ya want me to do?” Tomi asked, as the footsteps – now more than just one pair – continued away.

“What do you think?” The footsteps stopped for a second. “Good lord. Just get rid of her.” And then continued.

Koushi froze and his hand fell away from his mouth. Slowly he lifted himself onto his knees and peered out over the side of the bin, still half hidden in the shadow of the lid.

He could barely see Yui, only her kneeling shape as she curled in on herself. She looked so small against the gray expanse of concrete. A pink dot in the darkness. Tomi’s back was to the trashcan, so Koushi could only guess his what expression he wore.

Tomi crossed the sidewalk and shifted slightly to kneel in front of Yui. It was then Koushi noticed the gun. “Hey, Princess. Look up.” Tomi’s words were slurred. He was probably drunk, or high, or both.

Yui stayed frozen, staring at the ground.

“I said look at me.”

Nothing.

Tomi reached down and yanked up her chin. “Look at me.” He lifted the gun and placed it against the middle of her forehead. “Rot in hell.”

A small click preceded a larger and louder bang. Koushi didn’t watch Yui slump forward, only heard the sound of dead weight against the ground. He didn’t even notice the scent or the mush of garbage around him. The only thing he was aware of was the bang that replayed over and over again in his head.

“Let’s meet up with Boss.”

A second person grumbled and moved around the side of the trashcan. “But what about-”

“She’s where she deserves to be. Now get movin’.”

The footsteps raced off in different directions. Eventually, the street fell to into the same silence Koushi and Yui had walked into. Koushi sat in the trash and waited, maybe for five minutes, maybe for five hours. He lost all track of time. When the only sound he could hear was the phantom echo of a gun, he pushed the lid off, looked around quickly, and found that he was alone. He attempted to step out of the can but ended up crawling out when it fell over. He sat back on his heels, brushed silver hair from his face, and froze.

Yui was slumped forward, half kneeling half lying on the ground where they had left her. A pool of her own blood gathered around her head, sticking to her hair and filling in the cracks of the sidewalk. Koushi didn’t scream. He didn’t cry. He didn’t breathe. He just stared. He crawled forward slowly and rested a hand on her arm. It was still warm, but when he touched her wrist there was no pulse. He sat for a few seconds, staring at her, then pushed himself onto shaking legs and looked around.

His backpack was gone but her bag was lying a few feet from her extended hand. He picked it up and rummaged through its contents. Her wallet was there, and in it was the two hundred dollars she had managed to save over countless months. Without thinking about it too much he pocketed the cash. He left her ID but grabbed the picture of two girls in black uniforms, smiling at the camera. The tallest one had a volleyball tucked under her arm and was throwing a peace sign at the camera with her other hand. The smaller of the girls was beaming and mimicking the larger. He pocketed the picture and then picked up her phone. He stared at the numbers for a second. Before allowing his mind any more time to think or his heart any more time to beat, he dialed.

“Nine-one-one what’s your emergency?” The voice on the other side of the line answered after two and a half rings.

“A-a young girl… in her early t-twenties was shot.”

“Hold on, please.” There was some typing on the other end. “What is your current location?”

Koushi walked to the street corner. He glanced around then looked at the street sign. “Corner of… uh… West P-Parkway Avenue and… um… L-Lowell.”

“Okay. Thank you, sir. Hang out right there, I’m sending officers and paramedics your way. They will be there in about five minutes. What is her condition? Is she breathing? Are you hurt?”

Five minutes, that was enough time to run and get out of sight, especially if he started now. He took a quick glance back at Yui. Her condition? Dead.

“I’m fine, but I-I don’t know she’s not responding. I saw men. Three… maybe four… dark clothing, one tall with dark hair, one thin, olive skin and black hair, and I didn’t see the other two.” Before she could respond or cut him off with another question he canceled the call, tossed the phone behind him, then took off down the street.

Running was easier than he thought it would be. With each step the fresh air pushed him forward. The tightness of his chest and throat pushed him forward. The fear of going back and dying in that hellhole pushed him forward. He’d had five minutes on the phone, so what was it now? Three? Two? Were those sirens in the distance? He ducked into another alleyway and emerged on the other side. After looking left and right, he turned right and started running again.

He turned a corner and promptly collided with someone walking in the opposite direction. She stumbled back against the wall and he rebounded as though he’d just collided with fire.

“Ahai! Aren’t you in a hurry,” she laughed, pushing herself off the wall.

Koushi was on his feet in a second, reaching out slowly to help her stand and allowed the women to steady herself with his arm. “I-I’m so sorry.” He pulled away from her quickly and picked up her bag from the floor and handed it to her.

She took her purse and if she noticed his shaking hands she only waved a hand and laughed again. “Non te la prendere!” She fixed her glasses then gave him a long look over. “Are you okay, Cucciolo?”

He blinked and pulled his hand off of her shoulder. “Y-yes.”

“You look awfully pale, like you could use a warm meal and a hot shower. If you have nowhere else to be, come over. I can make you something, and offer you a bed for the night.”

Koushi’s entire body stiffened. He looked over the woman in front of her. Her short gray hair was cut in a neat bob and pinned off to the side to keep from sweeping in her eyes. She wore long pants and a thick jacket despite the heat. Her eyes were large and warm, and… open, truthful. Koushi felt sick.

“I… I have a place to go.”

“Your face says otherwise,” the woman huffed, giving him a calculating look over. “Also, it’s past midnight on a Thursday… excuse me, Friday morning. If you had a place to be you wouldn’t be running around these streets. Per favore, please, come and join me. It’s the least I could do. A young man like yourself should not be out on the streets alone.”

Another siren, this one not so distant, rang out in the night and Koushi nearly jumped out of his skin. The woman gave him another hard look and the words tumbled out before his brain could catch up. “Yes, sure, th-that would be lovely. Thank you.”

“Non importa,” she said with a wave of her hand as she started down the street, grabbing Koushi’s arm as she passed him and pulling him along. “My car is just around the corner.”

They walked side by side, or the woman walked and Koushi stumbled along behind. He could have pulled his hand away; her grip was loose enough after all. But every time he thought about it, she’d look back at him and smile. There was warmth to her face that was familiar but distant. He couldn’t place it, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

When they reached the car, Koushi slipped into the passenger side and buckled his seatbelt, letting his hand linger on the pocket where the money and the photo were. He turned to the woman as she pulled away from the curb and turned the car around. He pulled the wad of cash and the picture out and ran his thumb over it all “Can I at least pay you?”

“No, no. Per piacere, it is my pleasure. Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve shared my roof with someone. My children are all moved out, you see, and my husband’s dead. It’ll be nice to eat with a friendly face. You look like you deserve a warm meal and a good rest.”

Koushi swallowed the lump in his throat and slipped the cash back into his pocket. “Oh well… er… thank you then… Mrs…uh?”

“Rosalinda Varano. All my friends just call me Rosa.”

“Thank you, Rosa.”

“Prego. Come ti chiami?”

Somewhere far behind them the sirens were fading away, the quiet of the night taking over. At the sound of foreign words, Koushi looked down at his lap and ran a finger over the wrinkled picture, brushing over the smiling face of a tall girl, with short hair and wide brown eyes. The smile across her face was larger than anyone he’d ever seen her wear and brighter than any he could imagine her giving. Though the smile she’d give him in the alleyway was close, it lacked any of the joy she had in the picture. He flipped the picture over. In the bottom corner a date was written: 08/18/03. Along the top two names were written in slightly messy handwriting. Yui Michimiya and Mei Michimiya.

“Come stai? Are you alright? I only asked for your name.”

Koushi’s head snapped up. He wasn’t alone. He couldn’t let his guard drop, no matter how tired he was, no matter how far away he thought he was. “Yes… yes. I’m sorry, I… it’s been a long night.”

“I can tell,” the woman turned her head slightly to gave him a small smile before looking back over the road.

“M-my name is Suga,” Koushi said quickly and glanced back down at the picture, turning it over once again to stare into the face of a young woman who’d never smile again. “Suga Michimiya.”


	2. Investigation - Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Rudolphsd and Elfxci. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you guys.
> 
> TW: death & a dead boy, mentions of past sexual abuse and human trafficking

_Monday, May 23, 2016_

_10:53 pm_

He was far too nice, especially on his night off. The thought crossed Tetsurou’s mind as he turned the handle and pushed the door open. The restaurant was empty, probably due to the red closed sign flashing in the window, but the aroma of warm cheese and fresh tomatoes still lingered, though it was nearly overpowered by the scent of a cleaner and polish. The chairs were all flipped upside down on the tables and off of the floor, so instead of taking a seat, Tetsurou leaned against the host and hostess table and checked his phone. Yeah, Tetsurou was much too nice and no ever _truly_ appreciated it, except maybe Kenma.

The double doors to the kitchen opened and a pale face topped with short, gray hair peeked out. “I thought I heard something. Good evening Tetsu.”

“Evenin’ Suga,” Tetsurou greeted the other man with a smile and wave.

Suga gave one of his warm smiles and replied, “Asahi’s just finishing up with your order. There were seven in total, correct?”

“Yup. Thanks again. I know I called in late but-”

Suga raised his hand and shook his head. “Nonsense, it’s no trouble. Besides, Rosa would kill me if she found out I was letting her favorite customer or any of his co-workers starve. Sound’s like a long night if there are seven of you still working.”

“Oh, I’m not working tonight, just dropping food off,” Tetsurou said. He pushed himself off the counter and wove through the tables to stand in front Suga. “They’re expecting a long night back at headquarters, so I figured I’d get some good food to keep ‘em goin’.”

“Ahh, I see.” Suga nodded. “Big project then?”

Tetsurou shrugged. “Just an unruly client.”

The double doors behind Suga opened again, this time to reveal a larger man, his thick hair pulled back in a bun, and his eyes wide and soft around the edges. In either hand he held a plastic bag filled with containers. Tetsurou took the bags with another thanks and looked between the two men. “Just add this to my tab. I’ll come back and pay-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Suga said with a wave. “Tell your co-works that I wish them the best of luck with their client from hell.”

Tetsurou laughed and shook his head, his usually smug smile softening “I will. Thanks again.”

“It’s nothing,” Suga walked him to the door, and opened it, letting a gust of warm air blow into the cool building. “Say hi to Kenma for me as well.”

“Of course. Give my best wishes to Rosa. Have a good night.”

“Don’t let your co-workers work too hard!” Suga laughed.

With one last wave, Tetsurou was out the door and submerged in the dry night air of the city. The door clicked behind him, and once he knew that the restaurant was locked he made his way to his car, setting the bags down on the passenger seat, before walking around and sliding into the driver’s seat. He glanced at the small restaurant once more before pulling away to the curb.

Five and a half blocks later, Tetsurou made a left turn and pulled in front of the police headquarters. He unbuckled himself, grabbed the bags, and hopped out of the car, locking the door behind him. The late night receptionist welcomed him with a wide smile and Tetsurou grinned back, adding a hello and how are you as he waited for the elevator. Though how was anyone at this time of night? He was in the elevator and up on the fifth floor in three minutes.

The elevators opened to a quiet hall lit by what should have been four, dimmed ceilings lights, but what was really only three because someone still hadn’t gotten around to replacing the fourth light. From around the corner, Tetsurou could hear hushed voices and the rustling of papers. He turned the bend and stopped just shy of another man. “Oh, good evening Hajime.”

“Evening Tetsurou. We’re just finishing up. Thanks for getting us something to eat.”

Tetsurou stepped aside and let the other man pass. “It’s no problem,” he responded, before turning and walking down the rest of the hallway into the open room full of desks and people.

As usual, the room was a mess and filled with movement and papers everywhere. One group was passing around files and talking between themselves, another was standing at the front of the room with the whiteboard, laughing as they pulled off pictures and wiping away whatever had been written.

“Yo! Tetsu’s here!” A voice boomed from the other side of the room.

“And he actually brought food!”

Two bodies materialized before Tetsurou almost instantly. Tetsurou took a step back, holding the bags of food up as though they were toys. “What do you mean _actually_? I’m always this nice!”

The two detectives shared a look and took a step forward. The shortest one made a jump to grab at the food just as a hand came down and smacked him across the side of the head.

“Yuu, Ryu, give the guy some space. You’ll get some in a minute. Besides, don’t you have paperwork to fill out?” The third man sent Tetsurou and apologetic look as Yuu and Ryu slumped away with mumbles and groans. “Sorry about that. It’s good to see you Detective Kuroo.”

“It’s nice to see you too Detective… I mean, _Lieutenant_ Ennoshita,” Tetsurou corrected himself with a loud laugh. He made sure to slap the newly promoted lieutenant on the shoulder as he untied the bags. He took a second to look over the room of half drained, half starved police officers. “Don’t say I never did anything for any of you guys,” he huffed, setting out the boxes.

A few of the other officers looked up and Yuu and Ryu actually cheered, racing towards the desk where the food had been placed. This time Lieutenant Ennoshita just stepped aside to give them room. Tetsurou took a step back and glanced over at the new Lieutenant who smiled, his cheeks dusted with a tired pink. “Thank you,” Lieutenant Ennoshita said, “How are things in the world of SOB?”

Tetsurou shrugged. “Fine, I suppose. No one’s been shot recently so that’s a plus.” He looked at the last two containers. “Where should I put these?”

“Just set them on Daichi’s desk,” Lieutenant Ennoshita said as he took a box for himself. “He and Oikawa should be done getting the witness’s statement soon.”

“Oh oh! So the guy confessed?”

“Yeah, it only took three and a half hours.”

Shaking his head, Tetsurou walked across the room and towards the glass wall, which separated the Captain’s office from the rest of the desks. He peeked through the window briefly but the room was dark so he just let himself in. Moving around the set of chairs and the table, he set both of the containers down on the desk. He was just turning around when the light flickered on, blinding him for a moment.

“Oh, Tetsu, I didn’t think you would get here so quickly,” the man who spoke from the doorway was shorter than Tetsurou but he stood up straighter and his presence was larger, as was expected of the Captain of the Homicide Division.

“I just went to that Italian place I keep telling you about. Should I bring our resident lawyer his dinner?”

The Captain snorted and crossed the room to lean against one of the chairs. Upon getting closer Tetsurou began to notice the lines in his face and the dark skin under his eyes. “Tooru is more than capable of getting to his own food. You’ve done more than enough by just picking it up for us.”

“I know, I’m always this kind,” Tetsurou replied with a huff and a smirk before sinking down in one of the chairs by the desk. “So you settled the last case then?”

“We did,” Daichi walked around his desk and sat down, pulling one of the containers towards himself. “To quote our lovely Deputy District Attorney, ‘it’s always the husband.’”

“I heard lovely and Deputy District Attorney, so I presume you must be talking about me.” Another voice echoed from the door and the two men looked up to be met with a dazzling smile.

“Tooru, how lovely of you to join us. Tetsu brought us some food.”

“Ooo, wonderful,” the district attorney said as he crossed the room and slipped into one of the chairs across from the Captain and besides Tetsurou. He opened the container carefully and sighed. “That is the smell of freedom after a long day.”

Daichi hummed. “So I take it as Mr. Mathieson finished and signed his statement then?”

“He did.” Tooru sounded much too proud for his own good. “I had the absolute pleasure of watching the bastard walk out in handcuffs.”

Daichi nodded. “And you saw Mr. Ushijima out?”

The deputy district attorney scrunched his nose, huffed, and shoved a wad of pasta into his mouth. “He can see himself out,” Tooru mumbled through the food.

“Can’t you chew with your mouth closed like a normal human being?” Tetsurou sighed, pushing himself out of the chair. The attorney swallowed then promptly stuck out his tongue. Tetsurou sighed and turned to the police captain. “You’d think they would have a requirement for courtesy in law school.”

“I’m very courteous, thank you!” Tooru mumbled through yet another mouthful of pasta. Tetsurou shook his head, and Daichi rolled his eyes.

“I can walk Mr. Ushijima out.” The Captain’s mouth opened but Tetsurou continued before the other man could, “I need to head home anyway. Kenma is waiting for me and I have an early morning tomorrow.”

Daichi nodded. “Goodnight Tetsurou. Thanks again for the meal.”

“Bye Tetsu.”

The Captain and the district attorney watched Tetsurou exit the room before they returned their respective attention back to the pasta in front of them. “Speaking of early mornings,” Tooru said, looking up from his meal, “you need to sleep in tomorrow.”

“I’m fine,” Daichi grumbled.

“Everyone needs their beauty sleep. Some more than others.” Tooru turned to the window that overlooked the rest of the office, watching as Tetsurou walked down the hall beside a tall man with a stern, emotionless face. “And then there are those where no amount of beauty sleep will ever help.”

Daichi snorted and shook his head. “Now, now, just because he won that case doesn’t mean-”

Tooru spun around in his seat. “He shouldn’t have won that case!”

“The jury disagreed.”

The district attorney shoved more pasta in his mouth and for a few blissful moments the office was quiet and still. Then Tooru swallowed. “Anyway, all I’m saying is that you should sleep in tomorrow. I’m sure the department will run just fine if you’re not here before six. Besides, does anything happen around here before seven?” Daichi glared as the attorney rose from his seat. “Just think about it, okay? And don’t stay here too late.”

“We just need to finishing filing the evidence, then I’ll go home.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Night, Daichi.”              

“Good night, Tooru.”

 

* * *

_  
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_5:05 am_

He was suspended in a dark and peaceful state when a sharp buzz and loud ring jerked him to reality. Daichi groaned and blinked at the fan that spun lazily above his bed. It was still dark. Only a few beams of gray morning light slipped into the room from behind his curtains, casting shadows across his bed. With a groan he rolled over and winced at the light from his clock. Closing his eyes he hit the snooze button and rolled over. Maybe he would take Tooru’s advice and sleep in a little today.

There was another ring and Daichi’s eyes shot open. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced to his bedside table. From the edge of the table, his phone buzzed and beeped again. With another groan he grabbed it, pulled it free from the charger, and held it up to his ear.

“Yes?” His voice was gruff and heavy with sleep, he hoped whoever he was speaking with noticed.

“Sorry for waking you Captain but we have a… uh… problem?” The voice on the other end stammered.

_He doesn’t sound apologetic at all_ , Daichi thought as he rubbed his eyes. “What is it Tanaka?”

“Another murder and…”

“Our job is investigating murders, I’m sure you guys can handle this one on your own.” Despite his words, Daichi pushed off his sheet and threw his legs over the side of the bed.

“I think you’d be interested to see this one. Besides, we have either the suspect or a witness.”

“Either?”

“That part is still unclear. Ennoshita told me to call you, he thought this might be one for you to look at.”

Daichi looked from his wall to the clock by his bed. It wasn’t as if he was going to fall back asleep anyway. “Give me forty minutes. I’ll be there soon.”

The call ended with a click and Daichi set his phone down and rubbed his eyes. He glanced at the clock and groaned once more upon seeing the time. It was forty minutes before he usually got up for work. _Chikara better be right_ , he thought as he stood up. _This better be interesting._

 

Thirty-seven minutes later he was at the crime scene, which was a whole five and a half blocks from the police headquarters and a full twelve minutes from his house. He pulled up, parking next to two other police vehicles. Daichi pulled back his jacket to flash the badge clipped to his belt as he stepped out of the car and walked towards the taped off crime scene.

It was all in the alley next to some little restaurant, which clearly had not yet opened. He glanced at the sign: _Rosalinda’s Pizza and Pasta_. He stopped and stared at the sign a full thirty seconds before he remembered where he had seen the name before. This was the place Tetsurou and Kenma frequented. He’d had some of their pasta just last night. With a quick nod, more to get himself focused than anything else, he turned to the crime scene.

There he found that the rest of his division grouped around something at the front of the alley. When he got closer and pushed passed some of the other officers, he found they were standing around the body of a girl. She was sprawled on her back, her eyes unfocused on the lightening sky above. There was dirt and dust on her face that mixed with blood that had, at one point, dripped from a hole in her forehead, down her face. Daichi frowned and looked from the body to the officers beside him.

“Catch me up. What’s the deal with the girl?” He asked Ryu and Yuu.

Ryu stepped forward running a hand over the fuzz that was his hair. “She’s currently unidentified, though we sent Kei a few picture and he’s going through Missing Persons to see if she matches any descriptions. She looks to be around the age of twenty or twenty-one. Death was most likely caused by a shot to the head, close range, forty-five millimeters is my guess, but we haven’t found the weapon so it’s hard to know.”

Yuu picked up as Ryu took a breath. “We’ll have Kiyoko run the autopsy, and if we find any casings we’ll send them to ballistics.”

“Wonderful,” Daichi said with a long sigh as he ran his hands together. “What’s the time stamp on the murder?”

“We’re looking at just under an hour and twenty minutes ago, according to a few neighbors who claim to all have heard the shots,” Ryu reported.

Daichi stopped and looked between the two detectives. “When did we arrive at the scene?”

“Forty-five minute ago,” Yuu replied.

His expression soured as he looked the two men over with a glare. “Why didn’t we arrive sooner?”

There was silence and the two detectives exchanged a glance before turning back to Daichi. “Because we only received a call an hour ago.” Yuu finally said with a shrug.

Daichi sighed and pinched the skin between his eyes. “Okay, so she was killed over an hour ago, or a few neighbors heard the shot around an hour and a half ago, and no one decided to call the police or an ambulance until almost twenty minutes later?”

“It was two shots,” Ryu corrected, “And the neighbors might not have known what they heard.”

“Then why call the police twenty minutes later?” Daichi let out a sigh and rubbed the spot between his eyes. “Who even called the police? You said there were two shots heard, have we found any casings for either of these bullets? Can we confirm that the gun was a forty-five-millimeter weapon?”

“I have the answers to three of your four questions,” another voice responded, and Daichi looked up to see someone approach. Lieutenant Ennoshita’s suit jacket was long gone and in one of his gloved hands was a plastic bag holding what looked to be two shiny bronze beads.

“I’ll take whatever I can get at this point,” Daichi glanced back at the other two detectives. “You two, get the body to the morgue, and whatever you do, do _not_ bother Kiyoko while you’re there.”

Their eyes lit up and Ryu and Yuu exchanged a set of wide smiles. “Yes, sir!” They yelled with mirrored salutes before racing off to join the crew that was currently removing the girl’s body from the alleyway.

His eyes lingered on them for a second, as if to make sure they didn’t run into the street or get distracted by the reporters that had begun to gather, before turning back to the man who had just joined him. “Okay Chikara, what did you find?”

Upon hearing his name, Lieutenant Ennoshita stood up a bit straighter and held out the plastic bag, which held two small bronze casings. “We found the casings. One was in front of the victim’s body and the other close to the restaurant.”

Daichi glanced to the building on their left. It wasn’t near the crime scene, and though the physics of bullets could be strange at times they didn’t just fly in any random direction. “How close are we talking?”

“Very.” Chikara beckoned him with a wave, and Daichi trailed after the lieutenant, weaving through officers exchanging papers and paramedics removing the dead body. He glanced over to where a small group of reporters was gathered to find a young officer, full suite, scowling at the cameras. Daichi sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that morning and felt that familiar pressure built in his left temple. He was already getting a headache and it was barely six o’clock.

“Did Ryu and Yuu really leave Tobio to deal with the press?”

Chikara shrugged in response and continued around the fence that encompassed part of the patio and through the chairs. They stopped in front of a wide window. Being this close, Daichi could now see cracks that spread out like spiders’ legs from a bullet sized hole near the window’s side. Daichi glanced past the cracks to see a few officers searching the interior of the restaurant.

“We found the bullet casing just beyond the railing of the patio.”

Daichi looked from the other man’s hand to the neat hole in the side of the window. “So the shooter either had terrible aim…”

Lieutenant Ennoshita nodded. “… or he was shooting at someone inside.”

“So we can now confirm the gun was a forty-five, but can we confirm who the gunman was shooting at and why he was shooting at them?”

“That brings me to my final answer; we have the man who was in this building at the time of the shooting. He was also the one who called the police.”

Daichi let out a huff of air and surveyed the crime scene again. The group of reporters seemed to have only grown, but the body was gone, along with Ryu and Yuu, and a few of the other crews were packing up. Daichi found himself looking for a familiar scowl, but of course, it was gone. Captain Ukai was retired, Daichi still had to remind himself of that sometimes. “Looks like this case will be wrapped up soon. Where’s our witness?”

“Hajime took him back to headquarters. He’s convinced that the man is an accomplice.”

There was a sharp beeping and a quick buzz that came from Daichi’s pocket. He pulled out his phone and scanned the text before dropping the phone back into his jacket pocket. “Ryu and Yuu want me at the morgue, so head back to headquarters. Make sure that no questioning is done until either I’m present or DDA Oikawa is present. Actually, when you get back to the station, tell Hajime to call Tooru and let him know that another case might be coming his way.”

Chikara let out an ungraceful snort. “Oh, Hajime’s going to _love_ that.”

Daichi started back towards his car. “I’m sure he will. Just keep him busy. I don’t want him pressing our suspects buttons too much before we get a proper interview.”

 

* * *

_  
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_6:37 am_

Daichi opened the door and paused for a moment as the scent of disinfectant and chemicals tried, and failed, to cover up the fragrance of death that lingered in the air. He’d been a member of the homicide division for nearly eight and a half years now, and the morgue was the one place he wasn’t sure he would ever grow used to.

Ryu and Yuu, on the other hand, seemed fine. Bounding around the room, they each had more energy than anyone should when around a dead body. They trailed behind a shorter woman dressed in teal scrubs, her black hair pulled back into a tight bun. She moved with a steady rhythm, only looking up when Daichi finally stepped into the room and let the door fall shut behind him. She greeted him with a curt nod before bending over the body to pull back the to pull back the covering, revealing the young woman Daichi had last seen lying in an alleyway.

Now that her hair was down and her face was clean she seemed to be as young as Ryu claimed she was. She looked almost peaceful too with her eyes closed and lips pulled into a limp line, though the hole in the middle of her forehead told a different story.

“What’s the analysis?” He asked, crossing the room to stand beside the body, though he didn’t look at the girl’s face again.

Kiyoko stood across from him, and when she came to a stop, Ryu and Yuu crept in on either side, though they scattered once Daichi threw them each a glare.

“She was killed by lacerations to the parenchyma of the brain and rupturing blood vessels in her frontal cortex, which lead to intracranial hematoma,” Kiyoko said without missing a beat, indicating to the woman’s forehead. “All this was caused by a single bullet which entered her skull head on and from no more than fifteen or twenty feet away.”

“Were there any other wounds?” Daichi asked, taking a moment to sneak a glance down at the young woman’s face for a second before looking up back at the medical examiner.

Kiyoko sighed and her hand ran along the edge of the covering. “Yes, but there’s nothing to say that she fought back, only that she was… beaten, repeatedly and consistently. There is lots of bruising along her arms, back, and down her sides, both older and newer. I would say the freshest ones are anywhere from twenty-four to thirty-six hours old. The markings on her wrists are probably due to being bound sometime in the recent past. Her ankles too look to have been tied fairly recently. There is lots of bruising on her back and hips, as well as cigarette burns and other markings that hint at a history of sexual abuse. A long history.”

Daichi shook his head and stepped away from the girl to take a deep breath of air, but the scent of chemicals only filled his lungs and head. After a few seconds of staring at his hands, he glanced back at Kiyoko. “Is there any good news from this? Any markings as to who did this?”

Her stony expression dropped into a hint of a frown. “There is, but you will not be happy.”

Daichi looked between the two other detectives in the room, both of whom shrugged. He stepped closer to the body again and so did they. This time it wasn’t to be closer to Kiyoko either, or at least that wasn’t the only reason. The medical examiner pulled the covering down further, revealing the girl’s collarbone. Daichi almost found himself looking away, as if you could give a corps any privacy, but Kiyoko stopped, folding down the corner to reveal the plane of her chest just above her heart and breasts. There, permanently etched into her skin, was a tattoo of a flower. The petals stretched, half open, towards her shoulder, while the stem extending down before twisting into a knot.

“The White Lilies,” Daichi breathed, a new fire burning through his veins, and took a few deep breaths to calm his pounding head. The thick scent of freshener and chemicals only seemed to make his headache worse. Beside him, Ryu and Yuu shifted, glancing at each other then Daichi. “She’s not just a victim of murder, but of human trafficking as well?”

Kiyoko nodded. “It appears so.”

“Is this the first time anyone is hearing about this?”

She nodded again. “Yes. Only the people in the room know.”

“Then keep it that way.” He looked between the two detectives, both of whom nodded back feverishly. “I’ll tell the rest of the division when they need to know and the chief, but we will _not_ tell the press, or the other units until we figure out what this means. If the White Lilies are moving into downtown L.A., we don’t want them to know that we’re aware of their presence.”

“But if she’s dead-”

“They might not know that. Ryu, Yuu stop by ballistics on your way back to pick up the reports on the casings Chikara found, then meet me back at headquarters. We’ve got a witness to interview.”


	3. Investigation - Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being so late, finals were brutal...
> 
> TW: mentions of human trafficking

_Tuesday, May 24, 2016_

_7:48 am_

 

“Don’t tell him that the victim was part of a human trafficking ring.”

“What if he knows something?” Hajime asked, one hand on the door of _Interview Room One_.

“We’ll bring it up later. For now, let’s just keep it simple. After all, you said this guy’s been quiet all morning. Were you even able get his name?”

Hajime sighed. “Barely. His name is Suga Michimiya. He works at Rosalinda’s Pizza and Pasta and lives in the apartment above with the store’s owner, Rosalinda Verano.”

Daichi nodded and looked at the notes and questions he’d scribbled down on his legal pad. He frowned at his limited writing and glanced back up at his coworker and friend. “You think that he’s a suspect from this information alone?”

“He was at the crime scene. In fact, he lived next to the crime scene, and he didn’t call the police for thirty minutes. He might not have pulled the gun, but I’m sure he played some role in this whole thing. Maybe he’s a pimp.”

All Daichi could do was nod. “Very well.” He raised his hand to tap the Bluetooth in his ear. “Everything rolling Kei?”

“As it has been for the last half hour,” the voice on the other end said with a click of his tongue.

Daichi muttered his thanks and walked into the room. A single figure sat, hunched over the metal table at the center of the room. A head of silver hair was all Daichi could see. But the moment the door snapped closed the man’s head popped up, his eyes blown wide and highlighted with bags. Daichi found himself frozen and staring for a second too long, studying the soft features and open expression. Meanwhile, Hajime crossed the room and pulled out a chair from under the table. The squeaking of metal legs against a cold floor brought Daichi back to the space and the work at hand. Clearing his throat, he walked quickly to sit next to his co-worker.

“Good morning, I’m Lieutenant Iwaizumi, and this is Captain Sawamura. I’m sure you are aware of the reason you are here. We just have a few questions to ask you, so I just need you to… oh, you already signed the forms. You understand what they are saying and what you’re rights are, correct?” The man gave a small nod. “Well, that makes our job easier.” Hajime reached across the table and grabbed the paper in front of Mr. Michimiya. He passed the paper over to Daichi.

Daichi looked it over. It was the Miranda warnings written out and signed in neat swirls. _Better safe than sorry_ , the captain figured as he took the paper and slipped it under his legal pad.

“Can you describe happened and what you heard this morning?”

“Oh, okay... sure,” the man, Mr. Michimiya had a calm voice, dripping with half-concealed exhaustion. His clear voice suited his looks. He had that quiet kind of attractiveness, the sort that didn’t require any extra effort on his part.

Daichi blinked and forced himself to focus on anything other than the witness’s face as Mr. Michimiya spoke, “I woke up sometime around four-ten, maybe, to someone yelling. My room overlooks the alley and my window was open. I got out of bed and looked out. There were two people arguing, a man and a woman.”

“Did you hear what they were arguing about?” Hajime asked, watching the witness closely. Daichi, deciding that if Hajime was dealing with watching the witness than he didn’t have to, concentrated on note taking, only looking up when he felt he had no choice but to.

“I couldn’t hear it very well.” Mr. Michimiya twisted and pulled at his fingers. He chewed at his lip for a second then let out a soft breath. “It was just a lot of noise, and I was half asleep anyway so I can’t remember.”

Hajime nodded, and Daichi pulled his eyes away from Mr. Michimiya’s face again, specifically his eyes. They were wide and a warm shade of brown, Daichi noted – wait, when had he looked up? Daichi blinked a few times, forced a nod, and then asked, “What happened next?”

“I got up to close my window and went back to bed for another few minutes.”

“Did you see anything when you were by the window, Mr. Michimiya?”

The witness flinched slightly as if the sound of his own name was poking at some sore spot or wound. “P-please, just call me Suga. Everyone else does,” the man said softly.

“Alright then,” Daichi said. “Did you see anything when you went to close the window, Suga.”

The name change only seemed to make the witness tense even more, but Mr. Michimiya shook his head anyway. “I, well… there were just two of them, but it was dark, and the streetlight by the alley was broken I… I couldn’t see either of them clearly. The only thing that I could tell was that one appeared to be a man and the other appeared to be a woman.”

“And after returning to bed you heard the shot?”

Mr. Michimiya nodded, studying his hands and picking at his already short nails. “Y-yes, that’s when I heard the shot. After a few minutes of hiding I went down stairs, peeked around, and when I was sure it was safe, I called the police.”

“You waited until after the killer was gone?” Hajime frowned and Daichi couldn’t help but glance from the lieutenant to the witness.

Mr. Michimiya paled, and Daichi found himself chewing at the inside of his cheek before looking back at the paper as Mr. Michimiya spoke, “I… I was scared. I-I had never been in a situation like this before. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Were you alone in the apartment?”

“I was.”

Hajime’s frowned deepened, digging into his brow. “What about your boss and landlord, Rosalinda Verano? She lives with you, does she not? Why wasn’t she with you?”

“She was at her son’s house for the weekend,” Mr. Michimiya said softly.

There was a buzz in his ear. Daichi put a hand up to the Bluetooth and glanced towards the camera in the corner of the room. Kei’s bored voice echoed through his ears, “We called Mrs. Verano earlier, and that story has been confirmed. She’s on her way over now. She should arrive in about forty-five minutes.”

Daichi hummed and nodded when he met Hajime’s gaze. The lieutenant let out a snort, the kind that couldn’t be heard, only seen in the movement of his shoulders. The lieutenant turned his attention and glare back to the witness. “So you were alone? You must also be aware of the fact that there were two shots and not just one.”

Mr. Michimiya froze. His lips were pulled into a thin line, and his hands were balled together on the table. He looked like a student who had forgotten that there was a test that day and hadn’t even glanced at the chapters. He didn’t look at the officers, only at his trembling hands. Daichi glanced down at his paper again, while the man next to him leaned forward, eyes narrowing.

“So Mr. Michimiya, where were you when the second gun shot went off?”

“U-upstairs. It’s… that’s why I didn’t go downstairs immediately. I heard the second shot and I was scared he was still there with a loaded gun.”

“And you couldn’t call for help from upstairs?” Mr. Michimiya shook his head, Hajime frowned. “What phone did you use to call nine-one-one?”

Mr. Michimiya swallowed. “I used the restaurant’s phone.”

“Not your own cell?”

With a small shake of his head, Suga said, “My own cell was downstairs as well.”

“And you made the call after the second shot?”

Mr. Michimiya nodded.

“If you walked downstairs after the second shot, then why was the window broken and a second bullet found inside the restaurant? Mr. Michimiya if you saw something and are withholding evidence from the police that is a crime and you could-”

“Stop Hajime. Now!” The voice on the other end of the line was much too loud and too energetic to be Kei’s. Daichi tried not to flinch at the loud noise but held up his hand anyway and Hajime fell silent, despite the scowl.

“Sorry about DDA Oikawa,” Kei huffed after a second of rattling and shifting around somewhere Daichi couldn’t see. “What he means to say is Tadashi has pulled up some things, which could-”

There was some more rustling, and then Tooru’s voice filled Daichi’s ear again, a bit too loud and a bit too bright. “I don’t want him calling a lawyer or refusing to answer any more questions. We need to keep him compliant, so just get over here and look at this. You’ll find it interesting.”

Daichi sighed and glanced between the camera and Hajime, who looked like he was about to punch something, rip his hair out, scream, or maybe attempt some combination of the three. Daichi gazed back across the table at Mr. Michimiya, and forced himself to look straight at the man and not let his eyes wander. “What Lieutenant Iwaizumi is trying to say is that we need the whole story in order to find this man. If you don’t tell us everything, and we fail to arrest him because of information you did not provide, and another crime takes place, that crime is because of you.” Daichi rose, gathering is legal pad and papers in his hand. “It’s just something to think about. I’m sorry to cut this short but something has come up. I’ll send someone in to get you water and anything else you need.” Daichi turned up and started towards the door. Hajime followed after another half a second of watching Suga was a careful look.

They exited the room quietly, only after Daichi made sure he had all of the paperwork, and let the door close behind them.

“We didn’t even get a chance to bring up the victim.” Hajime snapped the moment the door was closed.

The two moved at a quick pace down the hall towards the tech room. “DDA Oikawa turned up and told me that Tadashi has some information to share with us. Background I presume on either our witness-”

“You mean our suspect.”

“- or our victim. Tooru made it sound important.”

“Did our lawyer care to mention what this ‘important’ evidence is?” Hajime asked as they turned the corner and stopped at the second door on the left. Daichi just shook his head. Hajime sighed, “of course he didn’t.”

The video room was packed, as it always was when an important interview was taking place. Kei was sitting in his usual chair. On the table in front of him were three different screens showing three different video feeds of three different interview rooms. Their witness sat alone in the middle screen, staring off at the wall across from him.

DDA Oikawa hovered over Kei’s left shoulder, while Tadashi stood between Kei and Tobio. The freckled boy had two files clutched in his hands.

Daichi acknowledged Tadashi with a nod and then looked to the scowling detective beside him. “Tobio, please go check in on our guest. Make sure to ask if he needs anything, and let us know if he does.”

With a huff, a mumble, and his usual scowl, Tobio wove through the crowded room and slipped out the door. When he was gone Daichi turned his attention back to Tadashi and nodded.

“Information on Jane Doe number fifty-seven,” Tadashi said as Daichi opened the file. “Margaret Emerson, twenty-one years old, went missing almost two years ago from Miramar College. Her family has not been contacted.”

Daichi flipped through the documents, taking a moment to look over her picture, a girl looking up and smiling at whoever was behind the camera. With a sigh he passed the files back to Tadashi took them from Daichi and replaced it with another manila folder.

Daichi didn’t open it, only looked at the name and frowned. The name just stared back, seemingly laughing at him, and the familiar and heavy weight of shame pooled in his gut. Pushing it away he looked back up at Tadashi trying his best not to glare at the young man. “Why are we bringing up a case from almost five years ago? How is this relevant?”

Tadashi swallowed and looked between the file in Daichi’s hand and his scowl that he did a poor job of hiding, but didn’t make a move to take it.

“For one thing Mr. Michimiya shares a last name with the victim from that case.”

Daichi snorted and Hajime rolled his eyes. “Coincidence,” the lieutenant said.

“Coincidences don’t exist,” DDA Oikawa replied, smiling sweetly when Iwaizumi glared at him. “Not to mention that the young woman, Yui _Michimiya_ , also went missing from a school in San Diego. And the prints found on that dreaded phone, the one used to call nine-one-one, and Yui Michimiya’s purse match the prints from or Mr. Suga Michimiya.”

Pausing for a moment, Daichi looked back at the folder. He opened the manila folder slowly, ignoring the shaking of his hands, and tried not to grimace at the picture of the woman slouched in the street. He flipped to the report he knew all too well, he could still recall the hours he’d spent staring at every word looking for one clue that would get them their witness. They had found a match to the print, if Daichi remembered correctly, they just had never found the guy. Daichi stopped and looked up. “But weren’t we-”

“Oh yes it get’s better,” Tooru cut in, leaning around Tadashi and into Hajime as he flipped to a page that was just a DMV picture of a young man with a shining smile, long silver hair, and deep brown eyes that were so familiar is caused Daichi to stop and glance towards the monitor.

“We checked the database again. Those prints, the ones that match our witness, _or_ our suspect,” Tooru looked right at Hajime when he spoke, “those prints match the prints of a certain Koushi Sugawara. You know, the man you couldn't track down? Well, Daichi. You found him."

 

* * *

 

When the door closed Koushi slumped forward against the table. He let out a long breath, resting his chin on his arms. Part of him wanted to close his eyes and just sleep. Instead, he forced himself up and rubbed his eyes, blinking them open. He wouldn’t keep them closed for too long, he couldn’t afford to. When he did, all he could see were two young women, one lying face up on the cold ground of an ally, the other lying face down on the sidewalk.

A wave of nausea rolled through him. He let out a breath through his nose and picked at the nail of his left middle finger. If he concentrated hard enough he could still make out the voices. Not the words, only the nuisances of sounds and syllables: the girl’s breathless huffs and empty words in the face of threats that were too palpable, too real.

Koushi tried to forget her voice and think of the man’s. Five years changed a person, Koushi knew that all too well, but voices rarely changed. Still, he couldn’t think of a face or a name to match that voice. The man’s voice had been rough and spitting, each word was venom intended to kill. A decade ago, Koushi would have doubted that anyone could hold that much venom in one body. Now, he was wise enough to know otherwise.

He let out another shaky breath and ran his hands together. A decade ago he would have called the police without hesitation Five and a half years ago he would have told her to calm down and think. Five hours ago, he had let some girl die in a back alley. Another person was dead because all he could do was hide, and he hadn’t even done that very well.

_You could just tell them,_ the thought bubbled up from some dark corner. It made the option sound almost easy as if talking would be easy. As if untangling the web of lies and half-truths could be done with a single breath. As if he could stand up and admit that all of this was his fault, that he had let not one but two people die because he was too worried about being recognized, too worried about being seen, too worried about his own safety. He’d let another person die because he couldn’t think of anyone but himself.

Koushi’s hand dropped to his back pocket for the third time. And for the third time, it came back empty. He could see his phone on his bed, laughing at him. He couldn’t call Rosa. Something heavy pooled in his stomach and threatened to rip through him. She’d come home and the restaurant would be closed, or worse, overflowing with officers, and he’d be gone. She’d get the story from them. Koushi could only imagine what they could say. He ran his hands over his face and leaned against the cool table to let out another breath that did nothing to ward off the fear and anxiety that continued to inch its way up his spine.

The door clicked open and Koushi was sitting up straight again, blinking as a dark haired officer walked in with a scowl that rivaled some of the ones he saw when he was chained to a life on the streets. The officer plopped down in front of him, glare focused not on him but on the metal surface of the table.

“Do you need anything?” Despite his sour look, the question itself was awkward at best.

“Water would be nice,” Koushi replied quietly.

The young man – he couldn’t have been much older than Koushi himself now that he got a good look at the officer – blinked at him then nodded quickly. “I’ll be right back then.”

And just like that, Koushi was left alone. His thoughts becoming his only company once again.


	4. Investigation - Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These last few chapters have been a bit slow, I apologize, but there has to be some build up I suppose. Also if anyone wants's to correct my Italian, I'm learning but I'm not going to pretend to be fluent...
> 
> TW: mentions of human trafficking

_Tuesday, May 24, 2016_

_8:23 am_

 

“What are your thoughts on our witness?” Daichi asked as he closed the door to his office.

Tooru shrugged and slipped into one of the chairs, kicking his feet up onto the table. “He’s your type: pretty face, nice hair, beauty mark.”

“Tooru!” Daichi met the attorney’s gaze and looked away quickly as heat pooled across his cheeks. With a huff, he kicked Tooru’s feet off the tabletop. “That’s… I was not talking about _that_.”

The DDA smirked. “I was simply commenting because watching you try to look at anything else was pathetic.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Daichi grumbled as he plopped himself down in his own chair. Tooru hummed. His bright smile only made Daichi glare more. “That is not what I meant and that certainly isn’t what I asked. We have a case Tooru, a serious one. So what do you think about him, in terms of our case now and the case from five years ago, if it’s even relevant.”

Rolling his eyes, Tooru sat up and played with the corner of the folder that balanced on his knees. “There’s no doubt that it’s relevant.”

“You think we’ve tracked down our killer then?” Daichi leaned forward, eyes trained on the man across from him.

The attorney sighed and flipped open the file to the pages of statements and facts. “You’re still on that? No. Suga Michimiya or Koushi Sugawara is not our killer. Not for Yui Michimiya’s case and definitely not for this case.” Daichi frowned and opened his mouth but the attorney held up a hand. “Just listen, I’ll take questions at the end. There’s a lot of evidence that connects him to both of these crimes, and I could make a case against him if I was sure he was the one, but that man is just… he’s not a killer type. I’ve been around enough of them to know that much, and so have you. He’s hiding something, but it’s not the blood of either young woman. I think he’s our missing witness from five years ago, and I’m sure he witnessed this morning’s murder.”

Daichi sat back in his chair and drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair. “If he’s not the killer and just a witness, why couldn’t we have continued to question him?”

“He’s not _just_ a witness. He’s _the_ witness and he wasn’t going to tell you anything. The more you pressure him the more reserved he’ll become. We need to come at this from a different angle. And by we I mean you,” Daichi let out a puff of breath and Tooru held up his hands. “I’m just trying to help you wrap this up as soon as possible because whatever he’s hiding, he’s been doing so for five years, so it’ll take more than just some nicely worded questions to get it out of him.”

Rubbing the spot between his eyes, Daichi found himself glaring down at the notepad where he’d written all the responses Mr. Michimiya – or Mr. Sugawara or whoever this guy really was – had given them. He could be held for twenty-four hours then they’d have to release him or arrest him, and it looked like the latter wasn’t an option.

Daichi glanced at the clock on his desk. They had just over twenty hours before they had to let their witness go. If that happened, they might not see him again. He had vanished once, he could probably do it again. In short, they had twenty hours to break open five years of secrets.

Shaking his head, Daichi flipped through the notepad. “Could we charge him on a count of withholding information from the police and thus allowing another crime to take place?”

Tooru looked up from his own file. “The charge for withholding information is definitely valid, but on the count of being responsible for another crime? We have no proof that these crimes are even connected.”

“Both girls had the same tattoo, which we’ve already established is a mark from a trafficking circle, and we have the same witness to both crimes. If none of that is a connection I don’t know what is.”

Tooru sighed and flipped the file closed. “That's all speculation. Both girls having the same tattoo isn’t proof of anything. Yes, that tattoo has been known in the trafficking world, but we have no proof that those girls were being trafficked when they died. And both of them having the same witness? Simply a coincidence. Besides, I don’t want to have to deal with any other attorneys if we do charge him.”

Daichi stared the man down over his desk. “You _are_ an attorney, Tooru. It’s your job to deal with _other_ attorneys. And you said it yourself, you don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Just because I’m a state prosecutor doesn’t mean I want to deal with any more public defenders,” he said with a wave of his hand. “You’re right, I don’t believe in coincidences, but I will when it’s the only explanation. We have nothing tying Koushi Sugawara to either of these women.” The attorney leaned forward a small smile crossing his lips when Daichi let out a breath. He thought the headache would go away after the morgue, but it was only getting worse. “Now, now Captain Sawamura. Don’t over think any of this or you’ll end up with wrinkles like Iwa-chan, then how are you supposed to get a date?”

Before Daichi could open his mouth, a knock echoed from the door. With one last glare to Tooru he looked up and through the window of glass to see a familiar set of narrowed blue eyes and black hair. He waved the detective in.

“Tobio, what’s up?”

The young man shifted in place and run his hands together. “The woman who owns the restaurant arrived and she wants to see the susp-“

“Witness,” Tooru corrected.

The young detective shot the attorney a glare before looking back to Daichi. “She wants to see the witness. Now.”

Daichi forced a small smile and nodded. “Bring her to the conference room. I will be there in a minute to speak with her. Thank you.” Tobio left, and the captain turned to the deputy district attorney still sifting through the file. “Stay here or go to the video room. We can talk some more once I’m done her.”

Tooru didn’t so much as glance up from the papers. With another sigh, Daichi was frankly surprised he had any more left in him, he stood up, grabbed his notepad and pen, and exited the room just in time to hear yelling coming up from the hallway.

“Get off of me! Dove si trova? Where is he?” A small woman marched into the room. The top of her gray bun barely reached Daichi’s shoulder. Trailing her was Hajime and a distressed Chikara. Tobio stood off to the side looking as uncomfortable as ever. The two looked across the room and Hajime met Daichi’s gaze with a shake of his head.

“Mrs. Verano?” Daichi asked. The women watched him with careful eyes. Daichi cleared his throat and tucked his notepad under his arm.

The woman marched up to Daichi, stopped no more than a foot away, and tilted her head back to meet his gaze. “What have you done to him? Where is he?”

“I presume you are referring to Suga Michimiya?” Daichi asked, and the woman’s glare was all the answer he needed. “He’s in our custody, don’t worry he’s not in any trouble. You can speak to him soon, but first, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“No questions! I will speak with Suga first, then answer what you want.”

Chikara stood still, eyes wide and hands wringing together and Tobio looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Hajime, on the other hand, moved to the side of the woman and placed a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry ma’am, but we can’t let you speak to him right now.”

“No. I will speak with him now or I won’t speak to you,” she snapped pulling her arm from his grip.

“Ma’am I’m sorry but-”

“Lieutenant.” Daichi held up a hand and Hajime took a step back. “Mrs. Verano, I know how you must feel, and I’m sorry for causing you any trouble. I didn’t realize how close you and Mr. Michimiya are. Lieutenant Iwaizumi,” Daichi gestured to Hajime, ignoring the glare he got in return, “will guide you to Interview Room One where Mr. Michimiya is waiting. I apologize for the wait.”

The woman huffed and looked Daichi over before nodding once. “Suga better be in there,” she muttered as Hajime took her by the arm. “How many times must I tell you, you do not need to hold me. I can walk on my own!”

As she turned the corner Daichi started down the opposite hallway. As he passed Tobio he said, “get Oikawa and head to the video room, _now_. Don’t let him make you wait.”

Not a minute later Daichi was down the hall and in the video room, Chikara trailing behind. Kei was still seated in the rolling chair in front of the screen. Tadashi sat next to him, still flipping through a stack of papers and files and pictures. The smaller boy looked up and went to stand, but Daichi waved for him to sit down and instead leaned over Kei’s chair. The blond pulled off his headphones and glanced up and back at Daichi.

“Anything interesting so far?”

Kei clicked his tongue and turned to look back at the screen. “Only _lots_ of hugs and lots of Italian.”

“Do either of you know Italian?”

Tadashi gave him an apologetic look and Kei glared as he unplugged the headphones and turned up the sound just as the door opened again and Tobio entered with Tooru. Daichi held a finger to his lips and looked back at the small screen where Mrs. Verano had Suga – or Koushi – pulled into a tight hug.

“Come stai? Come stai?” Mrs. Verano mumbled.

Suga pulled her arms off of him. He smiled, and there was something soft and sweet about it. Daichi didn’t want to look away, and yet he felt a sudden urge to turn the camera off and give them a moment of privacy. He blinked a few times and returned his attention to the monitor, choosing to ignore Tooru’s smirk that burrowed into the side of his head.

“I’m fine,” Suga replied and Mrs. Verano said nothing, only gave him a look that wasn’t a glare but a frown made to dig under one's skin and pry out any half-hidden truths. “Really. I’m okay.” Suga held out his arms as if to prove a point, and Mrs. Verano went right to work checking his wrists and elbows and arms for anything suspicious. “Have they told you what happened?”

“Oh no, I didn’t want to listen to them. I only wanted to see you.” She gave his left arm one more look up and down, then let it drop to his side. Suga opened his mouth to say something but she lifted her hand and smacked his arm.

“That was for not calling me!” The woman huffed then hit Suga again on the other arm. “And that was for worrying me. Quello che è successo? Perché sei qui? Stai bene?”

Suga gave her another small smile, sad but still strong and present. “One thing at a time.” He glanced to the door, then sighed and plopped back down in the chair. Mrs. Verano sat down across from him almost carefully. “First, yes I’m okay. They didn’t do anything, just took me in for some questions. That’s it. Did they really not tell you what happened?”

“No. Why are you here, tesoro?”

“Tesoro? Another name?” Chikara asked.

“Probably a nickname,” Tadashi offered, not looking up from the files and the computer still resting in his lap, and Chikara hummed.

“Someone… some girl was… she was shot this morning in the alleyway beside the restaurant. It woke me up and now they think I’m a witness… or something.”

Mrs. Verano sat with a hand over her mouth. “Quella povera ragazza. Hai visto-”

“No. No, I didn’t,” Suga paused for a second as if he was putting something together then shook his head and looked down at his hands as he picked at one of is fingernails. “I didn’t see anything. I don’t know who the girl is and I… I didn’t see the shooter. I came down too late.”

Daichi found himself glancing to Tooru. The deputy district attorney looked up and shook his head. Huffing, Daichi turned back to the screen just as Chikara tapped him on the shoulder. “Hajime’s wondering how much longer he should let them speak.”

“I’ll let him know when to step in. For now, just say another five minutes.”

“The restaurant’s closed for now,” Suga was saying on the monitor. His hands were folded but fidgeting in his lap, fingers untangling only to twine together once more. “But it’s a crime scene and they probably want us to stay clear of it for a while. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but you should probably find a hotel to stay in, at least for the night.”

“Nonsense!” Mrs. Verano crossed her arms and stared the boy down from across the table. “The crime didn’t happen in the building, it happened outside. Why can’t I just go through the restaurant to get to my house?”

“You’d be going through a crime scene and they probably don’t want anything to be messed up. Just stay out of it tonight and we can talk about what to do in the morning. Besides, one of the front windows is broken.”

“Che cosa? Cos’è successo?”

Suga fell and gave a weak shrug. “I don’t know, but it’s probably not safe to stay the night. The entire window needs to be replaced and I’ve been here all morning so I haven’t been able to do anything about it. Stay the night in a hotel. Una notte, allora si… eh… può andare a casa. It’s not like you would’ve been back today anyway.”

“He really wants her out of that building,” Chikara noted.

Daichi nodded but it was Tadashi who spoke up. “He looks… scared.”

Frowning, Daichi glanced back to Tooru who stood, chewed on his bottom lip, eyes focused on the screen. The lawyer released his lip from between his teeth and said, “He’s definitely hiding something. Get it out of him before we have to release him. If he’s scared for her, he might be willing to cooperate or he might drop a hint.”

Daichi nodded again and looked to Chikara. “Tell Hajime to pull Mrs. Verano out of the room in two minutes. Tobio go set up the conference room, I want to talk to Mrs. Verano about Suga Michimiya and see how much she knows. Tadashi, Kei, do some more background checks on our victim and Koushi Sugawara. Maybe look into Mrs. Verano while you’re at it. Oh, and Chikara, when Hajime pulls Mrs. Verano out of the interview room, go in there and keep our witness occupied, okay? If he says anything, get me as soon as possible.” Daichi looked around and frowned. “Where are Yuu and Ryu? They were supposed to get the ballistics report!”

“Setting up the murder board,” Chikara said, “Someone needed to do it.”

Daichi started towards the door. “Whatever happens, do not let Mrs. Verano or Mr. Sugawara see that board.” Taking a deep breath, Daichi spun around to face the deputy district attorney. “Tooru, let’s talk.”

 

* * *

 

“Just say the night in a hotel. Una notte, allora si… eh… può andare a casa. It’s not like you would’ve been back today anyway,” Koushi pleaded, eyes locked with Rosa’s.

The woman scowled, he had expected she would. In fact, he expected her to fight him tooth and nail and win. Yet after a few seconds of silence, she let out a sigh and sat back in the metal chair. “Va bene.”

Koushi’s eyes went wide. “G-grazie. It’s just for the night. We’ll get everything cleaned up and fix the window in the store too, okay?”

“Si, si,” Rosa huffed, “ma vi trovate con me.”

Suga blinked. Despite his five years of learning and living with the language, Italian was still hard to follow when he was tired. He rubbed his eyes and frowned. “What?”

“If I don’t get to stay in my own house, neither do you. Besides, if the restaurant is a crime scene you won’t be able to get into the apartment either.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here…”

“Non importa! I’m not letting you spend the night here.”

The door opened and the tall man with dark, spiked hair stepped in – Lieutenant Iwaizumi? The pit of Koushi’s stomach twisted and dropped. He looked back to Rosa who opened her mouth but he never gave her the chance to say anymore. “I’ll be fine. Arrivederci, parlerò con te più tardi.”

Rosa frowned but nodded and pushed herself up, tossing her bag back over her shoulder. “Tesoro, arrivederci.” She crossed the room, making a show of walking around the Lieutenant and stopped in the doorway. She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes soft but filled with something that Koushi could not recognize. “Suga. Non mentire. Va bene?”

His throat closed and chest constricted as she tossed him a small smile, as warm as any other, but emptier than all the others. The lieutenant came up behind her and gestured for her to move out of the door. As she did so Koushi barely squeaked out any form of agreement.

The door closed and the only words echoing through his head were Rosa’s last: Non mentire.  

Do not lie.


	5. Investigation - Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shorter and slower chapter. I'm sorry, I promise everything will get rolling in the next update. Thanks also for the support, I didn't really think anyone would read this, so it's nice to see that some people actually care even a little bit. 
> 
> TW: none

_ Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_ 10:37 am _

“So you think we should question him again?”

Tooru ran a hand through his neat hair. “I don’t know Daichi, I don’t know.” The attorney let out a sigh. “From a case perspective, I’d say just present the evidence you have and see how he reacts. If he sees that someone is connecting the dots he might talk.”

Daichi groaned and ran his hands over his face. They had eighteen hours now to either arrest Mr. Sugawara or let him go. Eighteen hours, it seemed to be slipping by too quickly. As his thoughts tumbled and twisted over one another a soft knock came from the door. Daichi’s head snapped up. “Yes?”

“Captain?” The door opened and a wide-eyed Tadashi stared back at him.

“What is it?”

The young man stepped into the room, letting the door behind him click closed. He walked towards the desk, skirting around Tooru’s chair, which caused the attorney to smirk, and Daichi to shake his head. “Lieutenant Ennoshita told me you were looking for these. Yuu and Ryu gave them to me because I asked. I thought you had already seen them. I’m sorry.”

Daichi took the papers from Tadashi’s hand with a small smile and glanced them over. They were the ballistics report from earlier. “Thank you very much, Tadashi.” The young man nodded and turned. He was halfway to the door when Daichi realized there were a few extra papers attached to the report. “What were you looking at?”

Tadashi stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Oh… uh… I thought it would be a good idea to compare this report to the one done for Yui Michimiya’s case.”

Daichi nodded. “And…”

Tadashi blinked like he was expecting to be dismissed and continued, stumbling over his own tongue. “W-well, they both used the same type of gun and forty-five-millimeter bullets, but bother murders were done with different weapons. The casings from the most recent case were fired from the same gun, i-if that means anything at all.”

“Thank you, Tadashi. Really.”

The young man’s shocked and slightly nervous expression turned into a small smile before he slipped back out of the room. Daichi skimmed the papers again and leaned back in his chair. “Okay, so another interview with Koushi Sugawara?”

Tooru just glanced at his phone and stood up. “Daichi,” he said and the division captain glanced up with an almost desperate look, “You’re overthinking this entire thing. You know what to do. When Ukai retired, he gave this job to you for a reason.” The room fell silent. Daichi was sure that if Tooru he’d be able to hear Daichi’s mind cranking away. In a sudden flurry of motion, the attorney snapped the file he had been reading closed and dropped it on the coffee table in front of him. “Now I have to go to a lunch meeting because I am _ever_ so popular, and you have a murder to solve. I’ll be back this afternoon to check up on everything.”

Daichi rolled his eyes. “Just get going. I’ll have Hajime or someone fill you in later.”

With a wave and another dazzling smile, Tooru was gone. Daichi slumped back in his chair as he looked over all the papers one last time. Tooru was right, as he often was – much do Daichi’s dismay – another interview with Mr. Sugawara was needed, and so was the truth. There wasn’t just one piece missing from this picture, but a handful.

After a few minutes, Daichi pushed himself from his chair and left the room. In front of the main desks, Ryu, Hajime, and Tobio all stood around the whiteboard where the facts of the case had been written down in neat bullet points. Suga’s, or Mr. Sugawara’s, name had been moved from under the title of suspect to the title of witness, leaving the suspect column open and empty. Pictures of the two victims were off to the far side of the board, with little facts written below each face. Under the facts were a few more points about the shop, the gun, and the fingerprints found nearly five years ago.

Daichi wove his way through the groups of desks and came to stand beside the group, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked over the board again. It wasn’t a lot to work with, and normally by now they had at least one suspect and more than one lead to follow. Daichi sighed.

“What’s our next move, Captain?” Ryu asked.

_ Good question.  _ Another interview with Koushi Sugawara was needed, but something in Daichi's gut told him to hang back. They needed a bit more information if they really wished to get anything out of their runaway witness. “Mrs. Verano is in Conference Room A, correct?” Tobio nodded. “Okay then. Detective Tanaka and Detective Kageyama, I want you two to interview Mrs. Verano. Find out as much as you can about the restaurant and when Mr. Sugawara began working there. Also, find out if there are any other employees who were working this week.”

The two officers gave a yes sir and a nod before walking off to the conference room. Yuu and Tadashi were busy looking for more information on their witness and victims, trying to find more ties between any of them. Kei was searching through any neighborhood videos they had been able to find along with the video from that morning of the crime scene. Chikara had gone off to sit with their quiet witness, which left Hajime and Daichi free, and they couldn’t do much more until they got the information they needed from Mrs. Verano.

Daichi let his eyes wander back to the murder board. He reread the facts and glanced over the pictures, stopping at Koushi Sugawara’s. It was a picture from eight years ago, clearly one from a college ID. They should have used his driver’s license but he never got it renewed so the picture was over ten years old. The man in the picture was visibly younger than the man sitting in Interview Room One, but also brighter. Despite the poor quality of the picture, Suga’s smile was large and cheerful. His hair was shorter but neater and swept off to the side of he forehead, though one piece still stuck up at a strange angle. His eyes were brighter, open and inviting, and the mole below his left eyes was stark against this pale skin. He looked full and healthy and alive.

Daichi pulled his eyes away from the picture and looked down the hall. All he could think about was the scared, secretive man hiding behind closed doors. Daichi looked back at the picture. _ I’ll find out what happened to you. I promise. _

 

* * *

 

Chikara stood in front of the door to Conference Room Besides him, Tobio stared at the door as if it had done something to personally offend him, and if they weren’t working on a case involving both murder and human trafficking, Chikara probably would have had it in him to laugh.

“Just make sure you don’t give Mrs. Verano that look,” Chikara said, reaching for the handle. Tobio’s eye widened and pink dusted his cheeks. Chikara just shook his head and pulled open the door.

Mrs. Verano hadn’t moved since he and Lieutenant Iwaizumi had brought her to the room. She sat with her hands gripped around a water bottle, and her eye downcast. When the two officers stepped into the room her head shot up and her eyes narrowed.

“Good morning ma’am,” Chikara greeted, giving her a small smile that she didn’t return. “I’m Lieutenant Ennoshita and this is Detective Kageyama. We have a few questions we’d like to ask you. Hopefully this won’t take too long.”

Chikara sat in the seat across from her, and Tobio plopped himself down to Chikara’s right. The detective was trying not to glower or glare and instead just appeared concerned or worried or constipated. If Mrs. Verano noticed she didn’t say anything.

“First off, I’d like to say that I’m very sorry for everything that has happened today.” The woman mumbled something under her breath in Italian. Chikara continued as if he hadn’t heard a thing. “We will try to wrap this up in a timely manner. We don’t want to keep you or Mr. Michimiya any longer than necessary. I just have a few questions to ask you, so let’s get started.” He looked down at the list he had written out earlier when Daichi had mentioned needing to question Mrs. Verano. “Where were you between eight last night and five thirty this morning?”

The woman sat up a bit straighter to look Chikara in the eye. “I was watching my grandchildren. Their mother had surgery on her shoulder this past Saturday and they needed an extra pair of hands while my son was at work.”

Chikara nodded and glanced over at Tobio who was busy scowling at his notepad as he wrote. At least he wasn’t glaring at Mrs. Verano. Chikara turned his attention back to the woman. “When did you leave to stay with your son?”

“Sunday morning.”

“When were you planning to return?”

“This afternoon.”

“And Mr. Michimiya was left in charge of your restaurant and home during the duration of your trip.”

She nodded. “Of course. He’s a hardworking and capable young man. I’m lucky to have him.”

“How long has Suga worked for you?”

Mrs. Verano sat back a bit, one hand slipping from the water bottle to tap the table in no particular rhythm.  “Probably about five years now.” Chikara continued to watch the woman, careful of his expression. There was a second when he heard Tobio stop writing and through the corner of his eye, he could see the younger man glance up. After a beat of silence, Mrs. Verano nodded, a small, distant smile gracing her lips. “Yes, it’s been five years.”

“When did you meet Mr. Michimiya?”

The woman glanced off the side again, then shrugged. “The summer of 2011, I believe. I don’t quite remember the exact date.”

“How did you meet him?”

Her other hand moved from to the table back to the water bottle. The plastic crinkled under the pressure. After a moment she loosened her grip but did not release the bottle. “A young woman who attends my church was very ill. I brought her some food that afternoon and helped out around the house with some other women from my congregation. We stayed rather late. A few of them stayed the night, but I had a restaurant to open in the morning so I left. I was walking back to my car, I had parked a block over, when I turned the corner and ran into a young man.” She paused and her expression shifted as if she was watching something small and helpless, like a bird that had just fallen from its nest. “He looked ill.Hhe was very thin, and he seemed scared. I invited him to my home, I always have leftovers from the restaurant and he looked like he could use a warm meal. He stayed the night and remained with me ever since.” Mrs. Verano stared off at the wall as if she was rewatching the scene in her head. Then she blinked and looked back up at Chikara.

“Do you remember where you ran into Mr. Michimiya?”

“It was somewhere around South L.A. Why do you need to know this?”

“We’re simply building a history and connection between you and Mr. Michimiya,” Chikara replied carefully, trying not to get lost in the thoughts that were clanking around in his brain. “Because of this, would you say you know Mr. Michimiya pretty well?”

“I would.” There wasn’t a hint of doubt in her voice and it caused Chikara’s chest to twist. She had no idea.

Still, he nodded and fiddled with the folder that held a truth she had no idea existed. “Do you know what Mr. Michimiya was doing that night?”

“If I remember he said he was looking for a place to sleep. Why is this of any relevance?”

Chikara nodded and forced another apologetic smile. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Let’s go back to the restaurant. Have you noticed anyone strange, lingering about these past few days?”

“I wasn’t in much this past week. There was a big gala at my church this weekend, so I was out cooking and organizing, and then I was away taking care of my grandchildren.” 

“I see.” Chikara pulled out a fresh piece of paper from the folder and passed it across the table along with a pen. “Can you write down the names of the employees who had shifts this past week?”


	6. Investigation - Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to make this chapter longer but I've barely started the second half and I wanted to give myself some more time to write and edit. Things are picking up though...
> 
> TW: panic attack, mentions of death and sex trafficking

_ Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_ 12:42 pm _

Daichi stopped in the doorway of the video room. He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned to Hajime. When the other man looked up, he tossed his phone to his lieutenant, who reached forward and caught it without missing a beat. “Tooru said he’d call when he was done with his deposition. Keep a look out for that, and if things get interesting before then, text him.”

Hajime scowled. “Why do I have to do it?”

Daichi shrugged and stepped out into the hallway. “You’re the only one who isn’t busy at the moment.”

He left before Hajime could raise any more complaints. Daichi wasn’t sure if speaking with Suga – Sugawara,  _ Mr _ . Sugawara – alone was a good idea, but he didn’t think bringing Hajime in would be of any help. Tooru had told him to trust his gut with these things, so Daichi found himself walking down the hall alone while half the division was stuffed in the video room and the other half was spread around the city of Los Angeles looking for some of Mr. Sugawara’s co-workers.

He paused at the door, took a breath, turned on the Bluetooth in his ear, and stepped into the room. The first thing that crossed his mind was the picture of Suga, smiling at whoever was behind the camera, his face bright and eyes alive. The Suga – Mr. Sugawara, Daichi scolded himself – sitting at the table with a mostly untouched sandwich was not nearly as bright or alive. He still looked young, despite the silver hair that fell from his head, but something in his eyes was dark, like a fire that had been blown out leaving only dimly lit embers.

Mr. Sugawara looked up when Daichi came in and then looked over Daichi’s shoulder. His shoulders relaxed some when Daichi closed the door and stepped into the room alone.

“It’s just me this time.”

The other man nodded and glanced at the sandwich, half of it was completely untouched and the other half looked like only a few bites had been taken from it. “Thank you for lunch I’m just… not very hungry.”

“That’s understandable.” Daichi pulled out a chair and sat down across from the other man. “I have a few more questions for you if that’s alright. You can end them whenever you want.”

“I don’t think I’m in a position to do so at the moment,” Sugawara said with a small smirk that faded as quickly as it arrived.

For a second Daichi found himself searching the man’s face for any more signs of the smile he’d seen in the picture. But a second later he cleared his throat and straightened out the papers he still had in his hand. “It’s within your right to end this whenever you wish. Now then, these past few weeks, have you see any strange people around the restaurant?”

The witness shook his head. “Not that I can recall.”

Daichi tapped his fingers over the desk. “You were alone in the building since Sunday because Mrs. Verano was off visiting her son and grandchildren, right?”

“Yes.” Sugawara nodded.

“Who else worked with you this weekend?”

“Shouyou and Asahi, mostly,” Suga replied. “Sorry. Shouyou Hinata and Asahi Azumane. They were with me yesterday.”

Daichi shook his head. “You’re fine. So, they closed the restaurant with you?”

The man nodded again.

“At what time?”

“Restaurant closed at ten last night. Shouyou was out by eleven, Asahi stayed a little longer to help me with one last customer. I was upstairs by eleven twenty or so and in bed by midnight.”

_ He’s running on four hours of sleep _ , Daichi noted as he snuck a peek at the man across from him.  _ That explains the bags under his eyes. _ Daichi let out a sigh and studied Suga, trying not to let his eyes hover over his lips or beauty mark as he spoke. “Mr. Michimiya-” 

Suga’s eyes snapped back to Daichi without a moment of hesitation _.  _ “Call me Suga.”

“Suga, have you ever heard of the White Lilies?”

Tension moved across Suga’s body, starting first in his shoulders and neck, and moving down to his hands, which were balled so tightly Daichi could see the tendons that ran down from his knuckles. “W-what? I’m sorry I don’t know what you're talking about.” His voice, however, was as smooth as ever.  _ Five years of practice _ , Daichi thought with a frown.

“The White Lilies are a gang. They dabble in the drug trade and have a sex trafficking ring that runs from Mexico up to Los Vegas,” Daichi spoke slowly, eyes never leaving Suga’s face. The younger man had gone pale, his skin clammy under the lights of the interview room, but his expression remained calm, his eyes never leaving Daichi’s.

Suga swallowed and Daichi forced his eyes to his notes as to not stare at the bobbing of the other man’s Adam’s apple. “R-really… that sounds terrible, but why are the Wh-white… why are they important?”

“We have reason to believe that the victim in this crime was also part of their sex trafficking ring. That’s the only reason why we ask.”

Suga shook his head slightly. His hands, which had been shifting slightly, froze. He sat still, very still, as if one move would disrupt something in the air. “I’ve never heard of them but that’s…” he looked up, his face twisted in sympathy. “Wow, that’s just awful.”

“It is,” Daichi agreed and released a breath. The line in his ear was silent; he almost forgot that the others were there, just down the hall, watching and listening. “I have one last question for you, Mr. Michi-... Suga.” Suga sat up a bit straighter, never looking away. “Where were you in the early hours of June seventeenth, two-thousand-eleven?”

“June seventeenth…?” A rather baffled expression crossed Suga’s face. Daichi watched as the gears in the man’s head clicked and the pieces fell together. The confusion left Suga’s face as his jaw tensed and breathing turned shallow. Daichi blinked and suddenly Suga was watching staring as though he had seen some kind of ghost.

“I know that was a long time ago, and I don’t expect you to remember everything. I’m just curious. Do you remember anything from June of two-thousand-eleven?” Daichi made sure to keep his voice even and calm. As he spoke, something in Suga crumbled away, and part of Daichi wanted to stop the questioning right there just to wipe the kicked look off of Suga’s face. Instead, he took a breath and settled back in his chair. “Can you tell me, Suga Michimiya? Or should I call you Koushi Sugawara.”

If Suga had been shaking before, Daichi hadn’t noticed it, but now every tremor in the man’s body was clear, and his breath was audible and broken. His eyes fell from Daichi’s face to his own hands. “N-no… I… I’m not…”

Daichi let out a breath, ignoring the hot guilt that pooled in his stomach as the man across from him slowly fell apart. As he spoke he made sure to keep his tone light and his voice calm, “Were you in South L.A on West Parkway Avenue the morning of June eleventh?”

“N… no.” Suga shook his head, his eyes blinking and gaze unfocused.

“Were you with Yui Michimiya?” Daichi asked gently.

“I…” Suga’s breathing was uneven. He stared down at the table before suddenly looking up and meeting Daichi’s eyes with a desperate and wild look. “I didn’t kill her! I swear! I-I would never… I could never… she… she was all…”

“I never said that you did,” Daichi kept his tone soft, “I just want to know if you were with her when she was killed. I know you didn’t kill her, but you know who  _ did _ . You can help us solve this case. All you have to do is give me a name. Please, Koushi, just-.”

“Don’t call me that!” Suga snapped before wrapping his arms around himself. He didn’t look up again, only stared at the table. “Please… don’t…”

“Why did you-”

“I can’t! I just… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” And then Suga was crying, fat heavy tears streaming down his face, pooling on the metal table. Daichi sat in his chair and just watched as the other man sniffled and sobbed, first into his arm, and then into his knees when he pulled them up to curl into a ball in the chair.

“Daichi.” Daichi almost jumped at the sound of his own name in his ear. “DDA Oikawa is here.”

“Should I…” Daichi found himself glancing into the camera in the corner of the room with a questioning expression.

“Leave him be.” Kei’s words lacked his usual edge. “We won’t be able to get anything out of him now.”

With a quick nod, Daichi silently rose from his chair, casting another glance over Suga’s huddled form. He scooped up the papers he had come in with, papers he hadn’t actually used, and said, as softly as he could, “I’ll have someone bring you some water and tissues.”

He was at the door and was about to push it open when a small, broken voice caught his ear. “Please… d-don’t tell R-Rosa… I… sh-she can’t know… p-please...”

Daichi froze and glanced over his shoulder. He forced a small smile when he met Suga’s gaze. “Of course not.”

He barely heard the 'thank you' as he left the room


	7. Investigation - Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another short and late chapter, my graduation was this past Friday so I didn't have a ton of editing time or a chance to post until today. Anyway, thanks for your sweet comments and I hope you enjoy another mess of a chapter. 
> 
> TW: mentions of past prostitution and hints at non-consensual sex, anxiety, internalized victim-blaming

_ Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_ 1:17 pm _

“We still don’t have a connection between him and the victims,” Tooru said over the papers.

Daichi looked over the board in front of them. “He knew one of them personally.”

“Did he say that explicitly?”

The captain let his gaze drop from the pictures on the board. “Well… kind of?”

“Kind of isn’t enough.”

Daichi was close to punching something, or at least flopping down in the nearest chair and groaning like an angry eight-year-old. Instead, he leaned back on the desk behind him. “All we currently know is that Suga Michimiya is actually Koushi Sugawara, who has been missing for the past eight years but was really only missing for three years because Suga Michimiya has been living and working for Rosalinda Verano the last five years. And somewhere in the middle of all this are the White Lilies and two dead women.”

“Was the thought that Mr. Sugawara was part of the White Lilies ever considered?” A voice asked from behind Daichi.

When Daichi looked over his shoulder and past Chikara’s desk to Hajime. “No, he couldn’t. You saw him, Hajime, he was terrified.”

The lieutenant shrugged. “Just throwing out ideas.”

“Could he have been a victim?” Chikara asked from his place just behind Daichi. He moved back from his desk a bit to study the whiteboard. “Yes, Mr. Sugawara was scared but he never asked for a lawyer, and he never got mad or defensive, and now he’s not saying anything at all. Maybe he’s worried they’d do something if he spoke up.”

Chikara cast a glance down the hallway and Daichi followed his gaze to the first conference room door, it’s contents hidden behind drawn curtains. They had given Suga – Koushi now, Daichi supposed – some water and brought him somewhere comfier, the conference room with a wide table and a couch pushed off to the side. Koushi hadn’t said one word after his last questioning, only stared at the floor with an unreadable and empty expression.

“Though I suppose it could be guilt driven silence,” Chikara said after a moment.

Hajime turned in his seat and considered the door for a moment. “No, you have a point,” he said. “It could be fear driven silence. If he knows the perpetrators of both murders, and they were the people who trafficked him, he might not what to say anything. Especially if one got a good look at his face last night.”

“My, my, look how smart our Hajime is!” Tooru said with a small clap of his hands, and a grin that was much too large and much too sparkly for the situation. “Putting together all those pieces.”

“This is serious, Oikawa,” Hajime snapped.

“But Iwaizumi, I was giving you a compliment,” Tooru scoffed, a hand over his heart and mock-hurt dripping down his face.

“Compliments are for dates. This is a murder investigation,” Hajime huffed, and as if realizing what he had just said added a quick, “And it’s  _ Lieutenant _ Iwaizumi to you.”

“Yes, Officer,” Tooru said with a wink.

“Okay then,” Daichi said, clapping his hands together and pushing himself off of Chikara’s desk. “So we have a definite witness to two murders and still no suspect.”  _ What do we do next? _ The question hung in the air. Daichi found himself glancing to the lawyer standing next to him.

Tooru laughed. “Just because I’m the smartest one in the room, doesn’t mean I can do your job for you.”

“If you’re the smartest one in the room, then we have a problem,” Hajime mumbled.

“Rude!”

“How about we let Mr. Sugawara go?” All eyes turned to Chikara who immediately flushed under the sudden attention. “We can’t hold him for more than twenty-four hours because we have no charges to bring against him, and he’s clearly done talking for the day. I think the best thing we can do is send him home and try to find other leads.”

“Find other leads how?” Hajime asked.

“We follow him,” Daichi responded without a pause, “if someone did see Mr. Sugawara and took a shot at him, that person might be back. Chikara, grab Ryu and head down to the parking lot. Use your car, or his, I don’t care as long as it’s unmarked. Hajime, call up Mrs. Verano and tell her that we’ve finished questioning Mr. Sugawara and she can come pick him up. Remember to refer to him as Mr. Michimiya. I’ll go let our witness know that we’re done with him for the day.”

As Daichi watched his group scatter, Tooru walked to the board, pulled a paper from under a magnet, and handed it to the lieutenant wordlessly. Hajime glanced over the paper and nodded his thanks to the lawyer, who walked back to Daichi with an I-told-you-so smile.

“Looks like you won’t be needing me for the rest of the afternoon, so I’ll be off. Call me if anything changes.”

“Will do,” Daichi watched the Deputy District Attorney walk towards the hall. “Oh, and Tooru, thank you.”

The lawyer snorted and waved his hand. “Think nothing of it Daichi. I’m always willing to lend my brilliance out to those in need.”

“Keep lending it out and you’re going to run out of whatever ‘ _brilliance_ ’ you have left,” Hajime grumbled before turning his attention to the phone at his ear. “Oh, good afternoon Mrs. Verano, this is Lieutenant Iwaizumi from the Major Crimes Division.”

Daichi snorted and shook his head, as he turned to make his way to the conference room.

 

* * *

 

Koushi stared at his hands like he had been doing for the last thirty minutes. At least the clock said that thirty minutes had passed, to Koushi it felt like years had gone by.

They knew.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. It wasn’t like he’d been very careful five years ago. If anything he was surprised the police had only just figured it out. By all accounts, they should have found him years ago. A simple fingerprint was all it took and suddenly they knew who he was, or who he had been.

Koushi bit at the inside of his cheek. He was grateful for the privacy, but it was so quiet. The only things he that kept him busy were his thoughts and those were dangerous even during the best of times.

He should just tell them everything. But even just considering it made his chest tighten and his head spin. Cold fear curled deep in his gut and snaked its way up his spine. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. The police rarely listened to rape victims, so why would they listen to him? He’d sold himself. He’d made a profit out of it, even if it hadn’t been much, even if it hadn’t been his choice. Who’d believe him anyway? That was five years ago. There was no proof. No other witness. He didn’t stand a chance.

Koushi let out a breath and pulled his arms closer to his body just as a soft knock came from the door. “May I come in?”

“Yes.” Koushi watched the officer, Sawamura if he remembered correctly, enter quietly and sit down across from him carefully. Something in Koushi’s chest twisted when he met the officer’s gaze, but after searching for a second, he found no disgust, no pity, only an apologetic and tired smile.

“You must be tired,” Captain Sawamura said. Koushi only blinked. “I’m sorry for keeping you long it’s been a rather hectic day. We’re letting you go, though we will most likely need to bring you in later for further questioning.” The officer pushed something across the desk and Koushi picked it up carefully. “That’s my card should anything come up. The first number is my office number; the second number is this division’s number. The press knows only the bare minimum about this case. They know the victim’s identity and the basics of what happened, but they don’t know about you or the White Lilies. It would be better for all of us if keep what is happening here on the down low, okay?”

Koushi found himself nodding before he even stopped to think about it. “Yes, of course,” he said softly. It wasn’t like he wanted any of this to go public anyway. “A-and my um… identity?”

“Classified, for now. If there’s someone you want us to contact we can-”

“No!” Koushi leaned forward and slammed his hands on the table. He met the officer’s eyes for a second before pulling back and folding in on himself again. His heartbeat against his ribs His head spun. He struggled with getting a hold of his breath before speaking again. “No one needs to know.”

The officer nodded. “Very well. Mrs. Verano is on her way to pick you up. If you need anything else before that, please let us know.”

Leaning back in his chair, Koushi played with his fingers, picking at the nails, though there wasn’t much to pick at anymore. “I…I will. Th-thank you.”

The officer stood up, and sent Koushi a smile that was so warm and so bright it made Koushi's stomach twist and turn. “Thank you. I’ll be back to let you know when Mrs. Verano is here.”


	8. Investigation - Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, at least the first half, so I hope you all enjoy reading it!
> 
> TW: mentions of murder and sex trafficking, hints as past rape/non-con, thoughts of body mutilation (only at the very end)

_ Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_ 2:03 pm _

The ding from the elevator pulled Daichi’s gaze away from murder board – as the whiteboard had been so aptly named – and to the hallway. A second later Yuu appeared around the corner. Trailing behind him was a giant. Even farther behind was Tobio, followed a bouncing ball of orange hair.

“Wow, this place is so big!” The shorter kid, who looked like a freshman in high school if Daichi was honest, said too loudly and with too much energy.

“It’s just another building, dumbass,” Tobio grumbled.

“It’s still really big. Way larger than where I work. And it’s not very nice to call someone a dumbass!”

“I wouldn’t call you a dumbass if you weren’t one.”

“What’s that supposed to-”

“Detective Kageyama,” Daichi cut off the conversation, which had escalated much too quickly. “Detective Nishinoya, are these the employees we were looking for?”

Yuu beamed, bounded over, and indicated to each of their visitors. “Yes, sir! Asahi Azumane and Shouyou Hinata.”

“That’s me!” The shorter one, Shouyou, waved a hand upon hearing his name.

“We know that,” Tobio grumbled.

Daichi sighed. How could one high schooler annoy one officer so much? And how could someone so small be so loud? “Tobio,” the young man looked up like a deer caught in the middle of the road, “go set up Conference Room B.”

“Yes, sir.” With a nod, he was gone and down the hall, though not after throwing one last glare to Shouyou who stuck out his tongue in response.

Daichi let out another breath once the detective was gone and turned his attention to their two guests. With Chikara and Ryu keeping an eye on Suga and Mrs. Verano, it was just himself, Hajime, Tobio, and Yuu left. Kei and Tadashi were available as well, but they had their own jobs to focus on and the more Daichi watched the red-headed ball of energy, the more he realized that he wanted Kei as far away from the interview as possible. He threw a small smile to Mr. Azumane and Shouyou, gesturing for them to sit down in any of the open chairs along the wall. “Sorry to keep you waiting, it’s been a busy day. We’ll be with you in just a moment.”

Mr. Azumane sat down quickly, glancing between the officers. Shouyou plopped down beside the large man and looked around like a kid visiting an amusement park for the first time. “Why are we here?”

“We just want to ask some questions about one of your coworkers, Suga Michimiya.”

“Is this about the murder?” Mr. Azumane asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Daichi, momentarily taken aback by the quaking of such a large man, simply replied, “Yes, it is.”

“Suga would never kill anyone! He wouldn’t harm a fly! Well maybe a fly … but not a spider… and definitely not a person. He wouldn’t kill anyone! Especially not a young girl. And he defiantly wouldn’t-”

“I understand that,” Daichi sighed and Mr. Azumane fell silent. Shouyou put a hand on the man’s shoulder and smiled softly before glancing back to Daichi and then to Yuu.

“We’re not saying Mr. Michimiya did it. He isn’t even a suspect, so don’t worry too much about that.” Yuu threw the pair a bright smile. “We just want to know a little about the restaurant and what this past week has been like. If you cooperate with us, we’ll be done and have you guys out of here in no time. Okay?”

“Okay!” Shouyou said, mimicking Yuu’s enthusiasm, while Mr. Azumane simply nodded

Before anyone was able to add anything else to the conversation a head popped around the corner, still glowering. “Conference Room B is set up, Captain,” Tobio said, glancing over at the visitors seated along the wall every few seconds. His frown only worsened.

“Wonderful, Detective Kageyama please take Mr. Azumane to Conference Room B, have Lieutenant Iwaizumi go with you. Yuu and I will go with Mr. Hinata to Conference Room A.”

Daichi led the guests down the hall, opening the door to let Yuu and Shouyou into the first conference room before trailing behind the other three to Conference Room B. As Tobio led Mr. Azumane inside, Daichi pulled Hajime aside. “If you need anything I’m just one room over. Also, we’re not focusing on Mr. Michimiya but don’t shy away from the topic if he starts talking. The more we can find out about our witness the better, but our main duty is trying to identify a suspect.”

“Of course,” Haime replied with a nod. Daichi smiled and patted the lieutenant on the back before turning and walking to Conference room A. Daichi looked over his shoulder and through the half-closed drapes just in time to see Hajime taking a seat across from a shaking Mr. Azumane.

With a snort, Daichi pulled open the door and stepped into Conference Room A just in time to hear “You played volleyball too! What high school did you go to? What position did you play? I was middle-blocker at Crescenta High!”

“I was a libero!” Yuu responded to Shouyou's question with too much energy for someone who had been up since four thirty that morning and had spent half his day in the morgue. “One of the best in the state.”

“That’s so cool!” Shouyou said, slamming his hands on the table and rocking back and forth in the chair. “I used to play at USC, but now I just play with a neighborhood league. It’s still a lot of fun though!”

A college student? Daichi blinked and looked the kid over again. With his round eyes, youthful expression, and childish energy Daichi never would have guessed.

“Nice! Daichi here used to play for the same team as me in high school,” Yuu laughed, patting Daichi on the shoulder as he sat down besides the detective. “He was our captain and a pretty solid outside hitter.” 

“Really?” Shouyou’s eyes lit up as he looked from Yuu to Daichi.

Daichi rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ignore the warmth that spread over his cheeks. “That was a long time ago.”

“Do you guys still play?”

“I do on the weekends, but Daichi doesn’t. He too  _ busy _ for it.”

Instead of meeting Detective Nishinoya’s challenging glare, Daichi simply cleared his throat and set the papers in his hand on the table. “Like I said, that was a long time ago. Now, Mr. Hinata…”

“Please just call me Shouyou,” the young man said, “everyone else does.”

“Okay, Shouyou, I’m Captain Sawamura and this is Detective Nishinoya, though I’m sure you’re both _well_ acquainted by now. We just have a few things we’d like to ask you. Before we begin you should know that if you are ever uncomfortable or feel unsafe, you can stop this at any time. Should you wish to skip a question, you can do so." Daichi looked the young man over, but Shouyou looked just as comfortable and energetic as ever. With a sigh, Daichi asked, "  How long have you been working at Rosalinda’s Pizzas and Pastas?”

Shouyou tapped his foot against the leg of the chair and stared off at the wall over Daichi’s shoulder. “Over two years I think.”

“And how long have you known Mr. Michimiya?”

“Uhhh two years. I met Suga a few days before I began working at the restaurant!”

Daichi nodded, and Yuu scribbled something on his pad before asking, “Was Mr. Michimiya the one who got you the job at Rosalinda’s Pizzas and Pastas?”

“Yup!” Shouyou said with a beaming smile. “He helped me get work when I couldn’t find any and really needed it. He was also the one who got me enrolled in a few afternoon classes at L.A. City College.” Shouyou’s beaming smile turned into something softer, almost distant. With that expression, Daichi could believe that he was older than he appeared. “He really helped me get my footing back when I needed to, and he plays volleyball with me and the guys sometimes!” A second later and the beaming smile and bright eyes were back.

“How many hours a week do you work at the restaurant?”

“I don’t really know,” Shouyou said with a shrug. “Some weeks I work almost every day, and other weeks I only work one or two afternoons. Rosa normally lets me out early when I have tests or other things to deal with.”

Daichi nodded. “How much did you work this week?”

“Not much in the beginning of the week, I had a huge Japanese lit test that I needed to study for, but I worked a lot during the second half, especially when Mrs. Rosa left. So maybe like… three hours or so Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, five on Thursday and Friday, and eight hours or more the rest of the weekend?”

“How many hours did you work yesterday?”

Shouyou tapped the table with his fingers, beating out an uneven rhythm. “I worked from five pm to ten yesterday. I wanted to stay longer and help clean up but Suga sent me home.”

Daichi nodded. “Over the last few weeks did you see anything odd or anyone suspicious?”

There was a pause, then Shouyou shook his head. “Nope. Not that I can think of.”

With a sigh Daichi pulled a picture of the girl they’d found dead besides the restaurant. She looked peaceful, hair splayed out of a table, and blanket pulled up to her neck. If you overlooked the hole in her forehead she could have been asleep. Daichi pushed the picture across to Shouyou. “Do you recognize this girl?”

Shouyou blinked and his expression crumbled into a grimace and then a frown. His voice was small when he finally spoke. “No, I don’t.”

“She wasn’t hanging around the restaurant this week? You didn’t see her at all?”

The redhead shook his head again. “No.” He swallowed and pulled his eyes away from the picture. “Is this… was she the one who…?”

“Yes, she is the victim in this case,” Daichi said, reaching across the table to pull the picture back towards him. He flipped through the packet quickly and pulled another picture out, but this time kept it face down on the table.”

“You didn’t see the girl any time this week, and you didn’t see anyone else suspicious, correct?”

Shouyou nodded. “It was a pretty normal week, aside from the whole… murder thing.”

Daichi frowned but nodded anyway. What had he expected? An argument in the restaurant the day before? A woman stopping by and being stalked? There were too many possibilities too many variables. Not to mention, too many people. L.A. was a huge city; a handful of workers would have been too busy to notice anything. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked across the table at the boy shifting in his seat, playing with a string that came from his shirt. “Shouyou?” The boy looked up. “Can I ask you a few questions about your coworker, Suga Michimiya?”

The boy gave him a quizzical look as though he couldn’t quite follow Daichi’s train of thought. “I thought you said Suga wasn’t-”

“He’s not,” Daichi replied calmly. “But we have reason be believe he’s an important asset in this case. I just want to understand him better, if that’s alright with you.”

“I mean… sure.” Shouyou shrugged. “I’ll try but I’m not sure how much help I can be.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Suga’s a pretty private guy, he doesn’t talk a lot about himself.”

Daichi chewed at the inside of his cheek, and beside him Yuu shifted slightly, eyes trained on Shouyou. “Do you know where he’s from?” Yuu asked.

“Another part of L.A. I think,” Shouyou said, turning to the younger detective. “He’s never really said where though.”

“Does he have any family or friends that he keeps in contact with?”

Shouyou’s face dropped and he shook his head. “All I know is he’s not uh… on good terms with them, his family I mean. He hasn’t kept in contact with them or seen them, at least not since I started working at the restaurant, but probably before that too. He’s lived with Rosa for a while now. I don’t think he has many friends from college either, or if he does he doesn’t talk about them or see them a lot. But that’s not surprising, he uh… doesn’t like talking about the past very much”

“Why?”

“I… I don’t know really,” Shouyou said as he shifted in his seat. He didn't look at either of the detectives. “But I don’t think it’s any of my business. If he doesn’t want to talk I won’t make him.”

“I’m sorry for prying then.”

Glancing up, the young man let out an almost tired sigh. “S’okay. I mean, it’s your job.”

Daichi returned the boy's small smile - which was returned immediately - before he flipped the picture around and gave the long hair and bright eyes a quick look over. “Can you tell me who this is?” Daichi asked, pushing the picture across the table.

Shouyou blinked at it, then carefully picked it up as though he was scared to touch it. He held it close to his face then farther away before he put it back on the table and looked betweenDaichi and Yuu a new and curious gaze. “That looks just like Suga but younger and with longer hair. I’ve never seen a picture of him looking that young. Why do you have it?”

“Identification,” Daichi cut in before Yuu could make up some wild story. “We have one last quick question for you. Have you ever heard of someone named Koushi Sugawara?”

Shouyou blinked then shook his head. “Nope. Who’s he? The killer?”

“No, no,” Daichi said, calmly placing the papers back in the manila folder. “Just someone we’re….” He glanced at Yuu, “Looking into. He’s no one important. We’ll that’s all we wanted Shouyou. Thank you for cooperating and answering our questions. Detective Nishinoya will show you out, and if you remember anything please feel free to contact us.” As the kid stood up Daichi handed him a card. “This is our division’s number, let us know if you need anything. Thank you again for cooperating with us.”

“It’s nothing!” Shouyou grinned, walking around Daichi to follow Yuu out into the hallway. “Oh yeah! You said you still play, where?”

“What? Oh, I play with…” Their voices died away once the door closed and Daichi slumped back into his chair with a groan. Nothing. They gained absolutely nothing from this, aside from further evidence that Suga Michimiya was Koushi Sugawara and that no one outside of the station knew that.

“Missing for almost eight years…” Daichi looked down at the picture of young, smiling Suga. His gaze and grin almost reminded Daichi of Shouyou, but a little less blinding and a bit more pretty and open. Daichi sighed. “Where were you hiding all that time?”

 

* * *

 

The door opened with a soft click and closed with a clank that caused Koushi to flinch. His textbook slid off his lap for what was probably the third time that evening. He sighed just as Rosa yelled from the other side of their hotel room, “I just finished speaking with the window company. They’re sending someone over tomorrow morning to set in the new pane.”

“What time?” Koushi asked, turning to the next page after skimming the last two paragraphs. It didn’t really matter. He’d have to read this chapter again anyway. At this point, he just needed something to do.

“Otto e mezzo di mattina,” she replied as she dropped her purse on the desk tucked away in the corner besides the tiny television.

“Isn’t eight thirty a bit early?”

“Non te la predere, I’ll deal with it.”

Koushi looked up from his book. “No really I can-”

“I need you to do some shopping for me tomorrow,” Rosa said, pulling a list out of her bag. She crossed the room and placed it on his book. Koushi gave the list a glance over then looked back up at Rosa. “Not for the restaurant for us. Can you do that?”

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Koushi said, placing the list by his phone. The bed dipped by his feet and he looked up and into Rosa’s eyes. Even after five years her gaze still danced over him with caution before worming its way under his skin as if trying to find his innermost thoughts. Swallowing, he looked back down at his book.

A warm hand came to rest on his knee. “Tesoro are you alright?”

Koushi didn’t look up as he forced a small smile across his face, well aware it wouldn’t quite reflect in his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Sei sicuro?”

Forcing his chin up, Koushi met her gaze and gave a shallow nod. “Sì. I’m just tired.”

Rosa sighed and squeezed his knee. “I understand. You’ve had a long day. Make sure to get some rest.” She pushed herself off the bed and walked between the two beds. She glanced at the clock before picking up the phone. “I’ll go pick up some food, what would you like?”

“I’m not very hungry,” Koushi said to his textbook.

Rosa frowned. “Are you sure they did nothing to you?”

“Yes,” Koushi struggled through the word. He glanced up and met Rosa’s skeptical gaze. “They only asked a few questions. I just…” His throat closed around the words and his tongue became heavy in his mouth. He looked down at the page. What book was this? Psychology? What was abductive reasoning again? Perhaps he could reread the paragraph _again_ and find out.

“You can tell me, you know.” Rosa sounded small, fragile almost. It was hard to picture her as the woman who literally picked him off the street and forced him into her home.

Koushi made the mistake of looking up and meeting her gaze, soft but serious. She was listening, she cared, and it only caused his gut to twist more. He felt sick. With one last sigh, Koushi close the book, folded his hands, and began to pick at his nails. “I just can’t stop thinking about that girl. The one who…” Rosa nodded, and he continued after swallowing down all the bitterness he could. “And I just… I wish I could have done something. Called the police sooner? Stopped the guy. I don’t know I just feel….”  _ Responsible _ . For her. For Yui. For all of this.

“None of it is your fault.” Rosa’s hand came down on his own, forcing his fingers apart. Koushi flinched, eyes wide and staring back at the woman who spoke with a soft, round voice and a warm smile. “You weren’t the one who picked up the gun and shot the poor girl. Give the police another day and they will have the killer arrested and he will be gone and out of our minds. Now what do you want to eat?”

Koushi turned back to his closed book and his hands folding back over it. “I’m not hungry.”

“I’ll get a salad and some rice then if you change your mind.” She kissed the top of his head before turning and crossing the room. She plucked her bag off the table and slipped back into her shoes. “If you need anything, call, va bene?”

“Sì. A più tardi.”

“Ciao.”

The door clicked closed and as Koushi let out a breath, opening up his book again and burying himself in the words to drown out the screams, and the yelling, and the gunshots. He buried himself in terms and statistics and names that he’d never need to remember. But every time he paused to turn the page, or reread a paragraph, the ghosts of countless hands crawled up his arms and slid down his sides, and the thick taste of bile sat heavily on his tongue.

That point on his chest, just below his collarbone and to the left over his heart, itched and ached. It twisted and pulsed as the rest of his body burned with hands of phantoms that trailed over his skin, his arms, digging into his hips and scratching down his back.

He shoved the book away from him and pushed himself off the bed and around to the tiny bathroom. If there had been anything in his stomach, he probably would have lost it. Instead, he dry heaved over the sink as the room walls spun around him and the floor bend under his feet. He grounded himself by turning on the faucet and splashing his face with cold water. The voices died and the screams faded, but the hands still drifted across his body.

He moved to the shower next, turning the handle as far to the right as possible. Maybe if he could freeze the hands they’d go away. He pulled off his shirt, stepped out of his pants and placed them on the shelf out of the way. He made the mistake of turning towards the mirror and froze, eyes locked on the spot of tangled ink just below his collarbone. His fingers came up to trace the old scar tissue. Even with half the tattoo gone he could still see if clearly as ever: a small lily, petals opening up to his left shoulder with a stem that extended into a knot half an inch down. For a moment he stared, wondering if there was a pair of scissors or a knife or anything he could use to rid himself of the mark once and for all.

Ripping his eyes away from the mirror, he stepped into the freezing water of the shower. 


	9. Investigation - Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life got away from me so I was unable to post last week, so I decided to just double up and post a longer chapter this week. Hope you all enjoy.
> 
> TW: mentions of anxiety & PTSD

_ Tuesday, May 24, 2016 _

_ 6:57 pm _

The writing on the board blurred together. The writing one the paper in the files blurred together. Everything blurred together. Daichi groaned and flopped back against Chikara’s desk. The lieutenant said nothing, only leaned back in his chair so that he could join the captain in scowling at the murder board. Fifteen hours and three interviews later and they still didn’t have a suspect or any clear idea of how this case and the one from five years ago were tied together, aside from having the same unfortunate witness. Hell, they didn’t even know that much about said witness aside from the fact that he _was_ a witness to two murders and vanished for almost five years between said murders.

“Almost five hours later and this is really all we have,” Ryu said, kicking his feet up onto his desk.

“You try questioning people who weren’t at the scene for relevant information!” Hajime snapped

Daichi rubbed his eyes and ran his hands down his face. Six people just staring at a board wasn’t going to do anything. The facts weren’t just going to stand up and organize themselves or crawl out from between the floorboards.

A phone buzzed and Daichi was pulled from the tangled haze of his own mind. The phone buzzed again and the table under him vibrated slightly. Chikara leaned forward and handed Daichi the cause of said buzzing. His phone, Daichi realized, which he accepted without so much as glance at the caller. “Captain Sawamura of Homicides and Major Crimes, how may I help you?”

“Daichi, you sound dead! Are you sure I didn’t accidentally call the morgue?” A bright voice giggled on the other end of the line. Any other time Daichi would have hung up without a second thought, but perhaps Tooru had some news or ideas.

“What do you want?”

“I just wanted to see how your afternoon was without me.”

Daichi sighed. He wished he could say it had gone well. Instead, he glared at the board as if the lawyer was there in front of him and grumbled, “What do you want,  _ Oikawa _ ?”

A sigh came from the other line. “I want to see what you have and discuss something with you. I brought some food with me, but I’ll need someone to help carry it up.”

Daichi pulled the phone from his ear and glanced around his small gang of officers. His eyes fell on Hajime, glowering at something on his computer screen. “Hajime,” the lieutenant barely glanced up, “go down to the lobby and help Tooru carry up some food.”

The lieutenant’s head snapped up and his glare darkened. “Why do I have to-?”

“You’re seated closest to the elevator. Go.”

Hajime slammed his laptop closed, stood up with a growl, and kicked his chair out of the way before starting down the hall. Daichi could just make out his grumbling all the way until the elevator dinged.

Once it was quiet again, Daichi looked back to the board, the words still blurred together, same as before. He rubbed his eyes again and blinked. Maybe he was getting too old for this? At thirty-two? Probably not. Maybe he was just too tired, his vision normally wasn’t this bad. Perhaps another trip to the ophthalmologist was in order once all of this was said and done.

Or maybe a trip to a psychiatrist what with the way things were going.

An elevator ding caused Daichi to blink. He pushed himself off of Chikara’s desk and walked over to where the hall spilled into the main room. A second later Tooru came around the corner, Hajime following. The lieutenant was still glaring but no longer grumbling, which Daichi assumed was a step in the right direction.

“Your favorite state prosecutor has arrived and brought with him some food!”

“Food!” Yuu’s shot up from lying across his desk.

Daichi took the boxes Tooru was carrying and plopped them on the table generally used for evidence, though in this case, it was sparse, save for a small bag with two bullet casings that Chikara hastily moved to his own desk. 

“Eat up! Hey, Tobio, go grab Kei and Tadashi from the tech room.” The young detective nodded, stood up, and walked down the opposite hall wordlessly.

Once the food was spread out and he had snatched some rice, noodles, and chicken, Daichi took a step back to stand beside Tooru and let the others move in. “Thanks for the food, it wasn’t necessary but is much appreciated. I’ll pay you back.”

Tooru waved his hand. “Nonsense, did any of you eat lunch?” Daichi just looked at his plate and picked at some noodles with his chopsticks. “Exactly.”

“You didn’t just come here to give us food, what did you want to talk about?”

Tooru hummed and took a few steps forward, reaching between Ryu and Chikara to snatch a pot sticker. “Let’s chat in your office. Kei, can you join us for a few minutes?”

The taller of the tech managers looked up and followed Tooru and Daichi into the captain’s office. Tooru plopped down in his usual seat, throwing his feet onto the table as he licked the last of the pot sticker juice from his fingers. Kei perched himself in the other chair across from Daichi as the captain pulled his own seat around as to not be trapped behind his desk.

“What is it, Tooru?”

The lawyer didn’t spare Daichi another glance – not that he really complained because he could take the time to now eat – and turned to their resident “tech kid”, as Yuu had begun calling Kei. “Koushi Sugawara has been considered missing for eight years. Who was the one who made the original report?”

“Someone named Keiji Akaashi. Tadashi and I were just looking into him,” Kei said between bites.

“Not family then?”

Kei shrugged, face passive as usual, though the small crease in his brow was enough to tell Daichi that he would rather be anywhere else. “Doesn’t look like it.”

Tooru nodded. “Good. We’re going to hold off on contacting this Keiji Akaashi then. I want to keep Mr. Sugawara’s identity under wraps for as long as possible.”

“Aren’t we obligated to-” Daichi started but Tooru cut him off with a huff.

“Mr. Sugawara’s been missing for almost eight years, another few days or weeks isn’t going to change that. Besides,” Tooru sat back and met Daichi’s gaze with the sharp eyes of a predator, “We may have our key to the White Lilies, and I will not let that key be tossed out into the public only to be trampled, bent, or worse, killed.”

Daichi sighed. So that was what this was about. He settled into the chair, balancing his plate on his lap. After a few seconds of staring Tooru down, he pulled his gaze away and turned to the other detective. “Kei, thank you for your work. You can head out for the evening. Tell Tadashi and the others that they can go home as well once they finish with their paperwork, and let Chikara know that I want to talk to him about keeping an eye on our witness.”

With a silent nod, Kei rose, Daichi still couldn’t believe how tall he’d gotten after high school, and left the room. When he was gone, Daichi let out whatever air he had in his lungs and turned back to Tooru. “You’re worried about our witness.”

“Of course I am,” Tooru said, settling back into the chair. Daichi had half a mind to stand up and knock his feet off of the damn table, but instead just stuffed his mouth with chicken. “So far, two people who were related to the White Lilies have ended up dead, and both of those murders were witnessed by a single person. The next time our witness disappears we might not find him again, or if we do he might be victim number three and John Doe number fifty-whatever. We can’t risk any more lives, Daichi.”

“And you can’t risk another case,”

Tooru gave a dry laugh and a half shrug, his usual self-confident smirk sliding across his face to mask any real thoughts “That too I suppose.”

“I thought we were going to talk about this tomorrow.”

“I want to talk to our witness tomorrow.”

Daichi frowned. “What makes you think he’s going to open up tomorrow, change his story, or, hell, say anything useful at all?”

“Police are intimidating,” Tooru said.

“And lawyers aren’t?” Daichi replied, setting his plate on the corner of his desk. He didn’t have the energy to deal with Tooru, not when he was in one of these case-moods. The kind that shifted his gaze so all he could see was the verdict and all he could talk and think about was how to get to that verdict. There was no question about whether or not Tooru was a good lawyer, but sometimes he could be a little much.

Chuckling, Tooru said, “Daichi, I am nothing if not approachable and easy to talk to.” Daichi stared the lawyer down but let him continue. “I was thinking about this case and your predicament this afternoon. You need evidence, good, solid evidence, else this entire thing will be built upon nothing. And you need a suspect. The longer this case goes, the less likely it is that we even have a case. We have our witness, a lock with a built-in compass, all we need is to figure out how he’ll unlock and who he’ll point to.”

“You think you can get more than we’ve already gotten out of him?”

“I think I can try, and if I get evidence, you can run off a look for our suspect and I can write up a statement and start piecing together a case. You get a killer and I get a trial. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

Daichi wasn’t sure why he was surprised at where Tooru’s train of thought led to. “So this  _ is _ all about your case…”

“Daichi, don’t you want to see a member of the White Lilies be put behind bars?”

“Of course I do, that’s not-”

“Then let me get the evidence and testimony I need. Help me build this case. You want to find a murderer. I want to throw a scumbag in jail. The longer we let this case drag on the less likely any of that is to happen.”

“It’s barely been fifteen hours, Tooru.”

“I will not let this be a repeat of five years ago, Daichi.” Tooru stood up, his smirk gone and eyes blazing. Daichi found himself staring at his hands, now balled into fists. As always, Tooru was right. They couldn't take their time, they couldn’t risk it. Now when dealing with the same witness as last time. “Just keep that in mind. I’ll be here tomorrow at eight o’clock sharp. We can go find your witness together, if he hasn’t disappeared, again.” 

 

* * *

 

  _Wednesday, May 25, 2016_

_ 7:45 am _

“We also need paper towels and toilet paper,” Rosa said.

“Already on the list,” the young man beside her replied as the elevator gave one last shudder and the doors opened. Rosa pushed herself from the wall and walked out, Suga one clip behind her. “Is that all?”

“That should be everything.” She wove through the people milling about the lobby, chin up and eyes forward. Despite being a whole five feet and two inches without heels – five four with heels – and weighing less than some animals, people parted as she walked passed. Behind her, Suga stumbled as he tried to weave around couples and walk through groups. Walk with confidence and walk with a purpose, she always told him. He always smiled and nodded, but stumbled behind nonetheless.

“Are you going now or this afternoon?” She asked once she had checked them out of the hotel and paid their bill.

There was a pause before Suga snapped out of his thoughts and realized that she had been talking to him and said, “now.”

Rosa frowned, but couldn’t find appropriate words in either Italian or English, so she simply nodded. Suga had always been a quiet boy, she had understood that from the moment she ran into him. But ever since this mess had begun, he’d been softer and startled more easily. Something was always on his mind. She could see it in the way his eyes drifted in and out of focus. It was the same thing that kept him up and made him scream and cry in his sleep. It was the same thing that looked back at him when he met his own gaze in a mirror. It was the same thing that had been haunting him since the night she found him like a stray animal on the side of the road, kicked, abandoned, and half-starved. She didn’t know what it was, only that it was there and she couldn’t do anything about it.

Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, Rosa gave him a small smile and squeeze. “Take your time. Just remember, they are coming to replace the window today, so it might be a bit busy if you return early.”

“See you later,” Suga said with a nod, meeting her smile with a hollow one of his own.

“Arrivederci.”

Rosa turned and started down the street as Suga went to wait at the bus stop. With some luck, they had been able to find a room just a few blocks over. The walk back to the restaurant was pleasant enough. The city was already busy, and the streets were filling with people. Though the sun hadn’t risen above the tallest buildings yet it was still hot and the air was dry, something Rosalinda wasn’t sure she would ever learn to enjoy. Even the shade was uncomfortable.

She reached the restaurant not fifteen minutes later with half an hour to wait before the repairmen arrived to install a new window. In its place was a thick board wrapped in plastic. She was surprised to find it free of graffiti after so many hours of exposure. She stopped on her way to the main entrance and found herself peering down the alleyway. It was empty as usual. The only hint that anything had occurred was the faded outline of a body half hidden by shadows.

She pulled her eyes away, turned, and walked across the patio and to the front door of her restaurant and home. She unlocked the door and was about to step over the threshold when she glanced down and froze. At her feet, right in front of the door was a white, trumpet-shaped flower, its six petals unfurling slightly to reveal a green stem dusted with golden pollen.

Rosa picked up the flower and looked it over. It couldn’t have been outside long for it wasn’t wilted in the slightest. After glancing around for anything else she might have missed, she held the flower to her chest and stepped through the door and into the restaurant.

She peered through the light that poured in from the window that was not boarded up and for a second she was stepping across the threshold for the first time again. The tables were old and dusty, the chairs a horrid yellow, ripping at the seams, and the place smelt of mold and dust and dull air. The floor was made of terribly discolored wood that had never had a finishing coat, the walls were chipped and peeling, and the window off to the far right was cracked and would probably leak if it ever rained.

Of course, now the floors were finished and that window had been redone and replaced. She’d tossed the original chairs and tables – because it had been a crime to even look at them - and purchased new ones. Now it looked and felt like home, smelled like it too. With a small huff, she crossed the restaurant, flower still in hand, and trudged up the stairs.

After finding a makeshift vase she set the flower up and dropped off the rest of her bags before heading back downstairs to wait for the repair company to arrive. At eight thirty-five a truck pulled up in front of the restaurant and three people jumped out. She met them in front of the main door and crossed the patio to show them what needed to be replaced, though the board made it clear enough. Once she had helped them move the tables to the far side of the patio, and pushed back any seats by the window, she slipped back inside and up the stairs, telling them to call when they were finished.

Pulling out the handful of clothes she brought to the hotel, she tossed them into the laundry and put her bag away. She crossed the apartment again and slipped into the kitchen, a bit small for her liking but she would never complain. After all, she had an entire restaurant downstairs if she ever needed more room.

Rosa paused in the entry, her eyes fixed on the white flower, half slumped against the pot she was currently using as a vase. Now that she was staring at it, she could make out the discoloration of some of the petals, turning them a slight off yellow, and black specks were scattered along other petals. It was a still a beautiful flower, clean too. Perhaps someone had left it as a memorial for the young woman who had been killed. She found herself glancing around the kitchen wondering if she’d dropped a note anywhere. Maybe in the hall or on the stairs?

“Rosa? I’m back.” A voice bubbled up from the stairs, soft and almost a whisper.

“Sono nella cucina!” She called back, dragging her eyes away from the flower. She crossed towards the coffee maker in the back corner, right as Suga passed into the kitchen. She could hear him rustling behind her as he set bags down on the counter and she started up the coffee maker.

“Eri veloce,” she said, glancing over her shoulder to see him standing on his toes to put some of the jars into the cabinet.

“No line.” He didn’t look at her.

Frowning, she turned back to her drink. “Caffè?” The machine started up gurgling and grinding – maybe she should get a new one? – and for a while the broken machine and the crunch of bags were the only sounds filling the kitchen. With a huff she turned around, arms falling across her chest. “Vuoi una tazza di caffè?”

“What?” Suga looked up, eyes wide and still unfocused, and then glanced at the coffee maker over her shoulder. “Oh, uh… non grazie.”

He turned back and began removing things from the last bag, his eyes still distant. Something in her stomach twisted. She recognized that look; it was a dulled version of the look he wore when she had first met him, when she couldn’t place her hand on his arm without him flinching and pulling away. Her narrowed gaze softened away to one of a wrinkling brow and set lips. Her arms unfolded and she took a step towards him. “Tesoro, are you-”

“A lily.” Suga cut her off with an almost strangled sound like all the air had been pushed out of him.

Rosa looked back at the flower. “Ahh, yes. I found it on the porch this morning. You didn’t happen to see a note when you were walking up, did you?” She turned to Suga. The boy looked nearly as pale as the flower’s petals. “Tesoro, are you feeling alright? You can lie down if you want. I’ll finish putting everything away.”

“I… uh…” Suga swallowed but didn’t look away from the flower. “Y-you found this on the porch?”

“Sì. Right in front of the door.”

There was a beat of silence, then he pulled his eyes away and took a few steps back. One of his hands came to touch his collarbone. “I see.”

“You really don’t look good, Tesoro. Maybe you should-”

“Lie down. I’m going to go lie down.” With that, he turned and drifted out of the kitchen like a ghost flickering out of existence or drifting from one realm to another. She watched him go, knowing that if she tried to reach out her voice would bounce off him and her hand would move through him.

The coffee maker dinged and she turned back into the kitchen.

 

Forty-five minutes later, when Suga had yet to come out of his room and she didn’t have any more chores or work to busy herself with, Rosalinda made her way back down the stairs to check on how the window was looking. It was nearly perfect. They were just touching up the corners when she poked her head outside.

She sat off on the other side of the patio, talking with the head of the project about how much the replacement would cost. Fifteen minutes later they left with a check in hand and Rosa had a shiny new window. Her watch read 9:42. If she was up for it, she could probably open just in time for a late lunch, but she had told them that they’d have the day off, so instead she looked over her new window once more and turned back to the restaurant, keeping her eyes away from the side alley.

“Mrs. Verano!”

Rosa stopped and the small smile she’d had slipped away. She recognized that voice all too well. She turned and fixed the police captain with a hard glare. He offered her a small smile and a dip of his head. “Good morning Mrs. Verano. I hope you’re doing well. My colleague and I would like to speak to Mr. Michimiya for a few minutes if that’s alright.”

Her eyes slipped from Captain Sawamura and turned to the man standing to the side. He gave a bright smile, warm and unquestionably attractive, and Rosa found her own glare softening slightly, though the prickle under her skin and the tightness of her gut never faded.

“Good morning ma’am, Captain Sawamura and I are sorry for bothering you,” his voice was gentle and easy to listen to. He seemed like a polite and reasonable young man “I’m Tooru Oikawa, deputy district attorney. We just have a-”

“I thought you said he wasn’t in any trouble!” Rosa flared, turning her glare back to the police captain. “Why did you bring a lawyer? Che cavolo! Haven’t you done enough already?”

Captain Sawamura took a step back just as the lawyer took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’s not in any trouble ma’am, I can promise you that. We’re here to help him, but we can only do that if he speaks with us.”

Brushing his hand off her shoulder, Rosa met the lawyer’s easy eyes with a glare. “Fine,” she turned and opened the door. “Please, come inside.”


	10. Investigation - Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is really long but breaking it up just wasn't possible. I'll also say that there is a pretty graphic panic attack in the middle of this so if that's not your thing or you're sensitive to that material you can skip from "The black outline of a lily..." to "He sat back on his heels." Thanks again everyone for the support!
> 
> TW: mentioned blood, death, panic attack, slurs, and vomiting (none-graphic)

_ Wednesday, May 25, 2016 _

_ 8:57 am _

“You want to go and do what exactly?” Daichi asked, looking over the file at the lawyer. With a sigh, he closed the manila folder and set it on his desk. He could get back to it later when he didn’t have twelve other things to think about and a loud attorney annoying him.

“I want to talk to him and see if I can find out anything else. This isn’t a formal questioning. Think of it as a…” Tooru waved his hand around as if trying to conjure up a word, “chat.”

Daichi shook his head and pinched the spot between his eyes. “Let me get this straight-”

“I don’t think that’s possible for either of us, but please continue.”

Daichi glared but let the comment pass, reacting would only encourage Tooru. “You want to the two of us to walk over, get ourselves invited in, and question Mr. Sugawara.”

“You make it sound as if it’s some  _ Mission Impossible _ assignment.”

“With how much she hates me, it might as well be,” Daichi said.

Tooru chuckled and gave a small smile, the kind that crinkled his cheeks and lit up his eyes. The real kind. “Of course she doesn’t like you, you arrested her son.”

“I didn’t arrest him, we just brought him in for questioning. And, Koushi Sugawara isn’t her son.”

“It’s the same thing in her mind,” the lawyer said. “You brought someone she cares about in for questioning and kept him nearly the entire day with little reason. Anyone would hate you. Unless of course they had a kink, in which case-”

“That’s enough!” Daichi cut Tooru off with a shout and a slap of his hand against his desk. “You want to talk to Mr. Sugawara. What would we get out of that?”

The small smile fell away to reveal a smirk. “A suspect and a witness.”

They left once Tooru had enough of annoying Lieutenant Iwaizumi and Daichi finished some paperwork for another case – murders don’t happen one at a time, as much as TV shows what you to believe that they do. Tooru insisted they walk because, after all, the restaurant was a whole twelve minutes away, and it was a nice day for almost-summer. It was hot, but the heat wasn’t unbearable, at least not yet, it would be in the afternoon.

The walk was pleasant. Tooru did most of the talking and Daichi did all of the listening, humming at the right times and pitching in little snippets that, for the most part, Tooru ignored.

“I feel bad,” Tooru said as they rounded a corner and stopped at the edge of the sidewalk to wait for the crossing sign. “He was a nice guy, attractive too, but I don’t have time for dating.”

The light changed, and the two started across the street just as the crosswalk sign flashed on. “Have you ever considered giving yourself a break and, oh I don’t know, making time?” Daichi asked.

Tooru snorted and hit him on the shoulder, hard. Frowning, Daichi rubbed his arm while Tooru said, “that’s funny coming from the guy who’s married to his job. When was the last time  _ you _ went on a date, Captain?”

“Would you look at that, we’re here,” Daichi said in lieu of a reply. Just three doors down the block was a sign that hung over the sidewalk:  _ Rosalinda’s Pizzas and Pastas _ . Past the sign was the patio, and for a second Daichi was taken aback by the sight. The chairs that had been neatly lined along the windows and railing were pushed to one side, leaving the far side clear of anything. The boards in the window were gone and in its place, shining new glass. A figure stood in front of the door; it was Mrs. Verano.

Daichi quickened the pace despite the twisting of his stomach, it was now or never, and what could a woman barely over five feet do? He’d handled larger people before and they had been wielding weapons. “Mrs. Verano!” He called as he approached the patio, Tooru a step behind.

The woman turned around and Daichi froze. The glare she fixed him with was like no other. Clearing his throat, Daichi tried to put on a smile. “Good morning Mrs. Verano, I hope you’re doing well. My colleague and I would like to speak with Mr. Michimiya for a few minutes if that’s alright.”

Beside him Tooru flashed her a smile – one that should have been saved for Hollywood or Broadway – as he took a step forward. “Good morning ma’am, Captain Sawamura and I are so sorry for bothering you.” There was no way he was sorry, but he made it sound convincing enough, any jury would have believed him. “I’m Tooru Oikawa, Deputy District Attorney. We just have a-”

“I thought you said he wasn’t in any trouble! Why did you bring a lawyer? Che cavolo! Haven’t you done enough already?” She turned on Daichi as if he had been the mastermind behind this whole plan, and instinctively he took a step back.

As if on cue, Tooru walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder like he was talking to an old friend. “He’s not in any trouble ma’am, I can promise you that. We’re here to help him, but we can only do that if he speaks with us.”

Mrs. Verano looked between them, her eyes narrowing again as she threw Tooru’s hand off. “Please come in,” she hissed, turning to throw open the door to the restaurant. Tooru caught it just before it closed on him.

The inside was back in order, even with all the chairs were flipped onto the tables. Though the restaurant hadn’t been opened in the last thirty hours it smelled faintly of dough and spaghetti sauce. Daichi hadn’t actually stepped inside the building when he had visited the crime scene, so he took a moment to slow down and look around. It was small and clearly family oriented. All the pictures on the wall were pictures taken of various landmarks across Italy. The same two children - a girl who looked to be around age eight and a boy around age six - were present throughout all the pictures.

“Lovely interior,” Tooru said, stopping by a table to admire the cloth and the chairs before looking up at the picture hanging above it. “Whoever styled this place knew what they were doing.”

“My sister did the design. I’ll send her your compliments,” Mrs. Verano said, her voice softening but not losing its edge as they wove around the tables and passed through a side door labeled with an “ _ employees only _ ” sign.

“Well she did a marvelous job,” Tooru passed around Daichi to walk just behind Mrs. Verano. “The pictures are beautiful. Where did you get them?”

“I took them myself,” the woman said as the door closed behind them. They started down a hallway, with a staircase in front of them and a door that lead to the kitchen to their left. “They’re of my niece and grandson.”

“Cute kids,” Tooru said. Daichi almost laughed as they started up the stairs. The last time he’d seen Tooru with a small child had been convinced that the lawyer was about to shoot either himself or the kid. “Do they live in Italy?”

“My niece does, my son and his children live in Oceanside.”

“You must visit Italy often then.”

They reached the top of the stairs and Rosa pushed the door open revealing a small but comfortable looking living room with neat, tan furniture and wide windows overlooking the city. “I try to go once a year. Please take a seat. Suga wasn’t feeling well, so he went to lie down. I’ll go get him now.” In a blink, she vanished around the corner. There was a faint knock, muffled voices, then silence.

Tooru sat himself down in one of the chairs across from the couch and Daichi took the other one, glancing around the apartment once more, his eyes falling on a cabinet lined with pictures.

“When he comes in you can greet him and exchange niceties, but I want you to take Rosa downstairs,” Tooru said, flipping through the folder resting on his knees.

“But what about the questioning?”

Tooru looked at him with a steady gaze. “It’s not questioning, it’s a conversation, an interview, and I’ll deal with it  _ alone _ .”

“But-”

“No. I don’t want him to feel pressured to say anything, not yet. I just want a picture of the story.” Tooru’s voice dropped to a tone that wasn’t quite a whisper but was clearly not meant to be heard by either Mrs. Verano or Suga. “I need to know what I’m dealing with. Besides,” Tooru sat a little straighter, and a dangerous gleam returned to his eyes. “I might be able to help direct your line of questioning later.”

Daichi stared him down, frowning. If there was information to be received the police should get it as well, especially if the name of someone who might be a danger to the general public was revealed. Tooru knew that. Daichi was about to voice his thoughts when the lawyer raised his hand and shook his head. “If names are given and a suspect for this murder is found, I’ll call you up right away. You have my word.”

Daichi huffed and sat back. Leave it to Tooru to always be one step ahead. Footsteps neared and Rosa turned the corner a figure shuffling right behind her. If Suga looked tired yesterday he looked exhausted now; his skin pale and face drained of color and energy. The morning light did nothing to hide the shadows under his eyes. Rosa sat down on the couch and Suga joined her, side pressed against the armrest and eyes downcast.

There was a moment of silence when Daichi exchanged a glance with Tooru, and Rosa watched them with equal parts discomfort and suspicion. She sat tall, but her legs were crossed and her arms were stiff and folded across her chest, a force unyielding. Tooru, smiling and pleasant as always, scooted to the edge of his chair and said, “Good morning, thank you again for having us. I don’t believe I properly introduced myself. I’m Tooru Oikawa and I will be the prosecutor for this case.” _That is, if we ever find a suspect,_ Daichi thought. “I just have some informal questions to ask of Mr. Michimiya, if that’s alright.”

Suga glanced up. When he did so, Tooru sent the other man a flashing smile. Suga’s gaze dropped back to the hands and the coffee table between them. Tooru turned his attention from Suga to Rosa.

“Would you like something to drink? I have juice, water, coffee?” Rosa said through the thick silence.

“Coffee would be lovely,” Tooru said with a nod.

“Water please,” Daichi replied, and Rose nodded, standing and slipping across the room and into the kitchen. Daichi could still see her over the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen, but the moment she was out of the room, the air stiffened. Suga didn’t look up. His only movement was that of his hands twisting together. 

“If you are not feeling well, we can come back another day,” Tooru finally said once the grumbling and groaning sound of a coffee maker broke the silence.

At that, Suga looked up. “It’s fine. I just have a headache, that’s all.”

Tooru nodded. “I also want you to know that this is not a formal questioning, anything you say here will not be held against you. Captain Sawamura will leave the room and you won’t have to answer anything you are uncomfortable with.”

Suga watched them in the same way the dogs at the pound always did when Daichi and his sister would go to look at them. Suga didn’t trust them and he the tension across his shoulders and limbs said that wanted to run, but he held his ground, strained and stiff. Daichi thought back to the identification picture of Suga hanging on the murder board under the witness category and couldn’t help but wonder when that happy smile turned to a look of fear and what had happened and who caused it.

“Why are you doing this?” Suga finally asked his voice soft, but any fear he had in his body was missing from his voice.

“I want to help you,” Tooru said as Rosa returned from the kitchen glasses and cups in hand. Suga frowned, probably suspecting there to be more to Tooru’s words but didn’t say anything else, only reached out and helped Rosa set two glasses of water and a steaming cup of coffee on the table. The woman sat back down on the couch, taking a second the slap Suga’s hands away from each other.

Tooru took his cup gingerly and looked back to Rosa, who sat at full attention. “I would like to speak to Mr. Michimiya in private. If he is okay with that, I would request that you and Captain Sawamura stay downstairs for some time, or that Mr. Michimiya and I relocate to another room.”

“I thought you said this wouldn’t be formal questioning.”

“It’s not,” Tooru replied, calmly taking a sit of his coffee. “That’s why I’m sending you and Captain Sawamura away.”

Rosa narrowed her eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because we believe that we might have a suspect and if we do I want to start building my case.” Suga stiffened. Tooru noticed, his eyes lingered on the man for a second too long, but if Rosa or Suga saw anything they made no indication. “I want Mr. Michimiya as one of my witnesses, considering he may have observed or at least heard some of the attack. I always like to hear the whole story before I begin to write my opening. Of course, if Mr. Michimiya doesn’t wish to speak with me today that is perfectly understandable, but know that this conversation will need to happen eventually.” Tooru ended, his eyes bearing into Suga’s head.

The man shifted, and Rosa set her glass down with a little too much force. “Questo è ridicolo! Suga should not be left alone to fend off against a cop and a trained attorney.”

Suga’s gaze dropped and a small smile crossed Tooru’s lips as he turned his sharp gaze to Rosa, who simply stared right back at him, unblinking. “Like I said, Captain Sawamura would be with you downstairs. Suga would not be under any pressure to say anything to law enforcement.”

“He’d still be stuck with-”

“Rosa, it’s fine,” Suga’s voice cut through Rosa’s voice like a small knife. “I-I’d much rather just do it and get it done with.”

“Fai come ti pare!” Rosa stood in a flourish and Daichi rose after her. She threw him a glare as if to say this entire thing was his fault, before marching towards the door. “We’ll be downstairs, call if you need anything.” Her gaze snapped away and Daichi nodded to Tooru before trailing after the woman. He stopped at the door and closed it behind him slowly, taking one last peek at Suga. 

 

* * *

 

Koushi’s eyes followed Rosa as she stormed out of the room. The tension in her shoulders was a reflection of the tension in the air. Koushi returned his gaze to the lawyer across from him as the door closed. 

The attorney watched Koushi with a calm look. He had the same calculating expression that all the dealers on the street had, the only difference was that his face was polished, his hair neat, and his eyes lacked any of that unmistakable darkness. Still, as Koushi sat back in his chair he found himself on edge, steadying himself by gripping his glass.

“You have questions for me?” He asked, keeping his voice calm and clear.

The lawyer nodded and straightened the file in his lap. “I would like to remind you that what is said now falls under client-attorney privilege. I cannot disclose anything you say. Should new information arise and you need a defense lawyer, I will get you one, but I think both of us know that nothing of that sort will be necessary. So let’s begin. If it gets to be too much, stop me.”

Koushi glanced around the room. They were alone, and the apartment was empty, so why did he feel hot and exposed, like he was under a microscope or being watched by a thousand eyes. He shifted again, set his glass down, and let his hands fall back together.

“Where were you between twelve o’clock pm and four o’clock am, Tuesday, May twenty-fourth, twenty-sixteen?”

Jaw clenching and chest tightening, it took every once Koushi had not to grind his teeth. “I already answered that when they were questioning me yesterday, I was here, sleeping.”

“I see.” Something shimmered in the attorney’s eye, and Koushi frowned slightly, but a second later it as gone and Mr. Oikawa was asking, “How long have you lived here and worked at Rosalinda’s Pizzas and Pastas?”

“Excuse me, Mr. Oikawa-”

“Please just call me Tooru,” the attorney said with a wave of his hand. “I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot of each other and I see no need for such formalities outside of the courtroom.”

“What’s the point of this? They asked me these questions yesterday.”

“Did they? I apologize, I wasn’t there so I don’t know what you covered yesterday. I suppose we’ll shift gears then. Who did you see in the alleyway?”

A shiver ran down Koushi’s spine and his blood ran cold. For a second, Tooru’s eyes darkened and his serious expression shifted into a smirk. Koushi almost gagged. Instead, he took a shaky breath and spoke, “as I said yesterday, I  _ heard _ a man and woman arguing. I didn’t  _ see _ anything.”

“And the broken window?”

“I guess he was a bad shot,” Koushi said, then closed his mouth quickly. He wasn’t thinking. He’d let the lawyer wear him down and so he had to pay the price. Koushi dropped his gaze hoping the lawyer didn’t catch the panic in his eyes and turned his attention to hands.

“There’s no need to be so defensive, Mr. Sugawara.”

A cold wave rattled up Koushi’s spine settling along the back of his neck and wrapping around to his lungs. “Th-there’s no reason to call me that. I thought we dropped the formalities.”

“You’re right we did. My apologies.” Koushi glanced up at the lawyer. Tooru’s smile didn’t make him look sorry at all. “I was hoping you could be a little bit more forthcoming now that we’re alone.”

He stopping picking his nail when blood began to bubble up and asked, “forthcoming about what?”

Tooru’s eyes brightened, and the cold around Koushi’s lungs on settled down and spread out across his chest. The attorney leaned forward and Koushi dropped his gaze. But Tooru only placed down his coffee before settling back into his chair, leaving Koushi pressed against the couch, heart hammering and eyes wide. Koushi looked the man across from him over, taking in the cross of his legs, the tilt of his head, the intelligence of his eyes, anything that would help Koushi predict what Tooru’s next move would be.

Tooru settled into his chair and said, “About why the window to the restaurant was broken, and why the CSI team found a second bullet inside the restaurant, between the tables. You should know, Koushi, that the casing-”

“Don’t call me that!” Koushi snapped and the lawyer fell still and silent, his expression a mix of shock and something else that quickly faded away. Koushi swallowed and looked anywhere else. “I thought you said you weren’t there yesterday…”

“I’m wasn’t,” Tooru replied smoothly. “But I was shown most of the evidence.” His hand ran over the manila folder in his lap and for a moment of time, Koushi considered lunging forward, grabbing it, and ripping or tearing or burning it. “So… Koushi-”

“Suga. My name is Suga.”

“Why was there a hole in the window,  _ Suga _ ?”

Koushi fidgeted in his seat. He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears and his pulse raced with every second that went by. He ripped another part of his nail off, drops of red splattering over his clean shirt. “I-I went downstairs after I heard the first shot.” He didn’t have to look up to know Tooru was watching him. The attorney’s eyes carried a weight, but they weren’t like André’s eyes or any of his clients’. They were warmer but still managed to crawl under his skin and peel back everything. “I snuck through the restaurant, I… I thought I was being quiet. I guess he saw me because he tried to shoot me. I ducked and hid among the tables. Somehow, I made it to the kitchen.”

“Did you see the attacker?”

When Koushi blinked he saw the shadow cast into the restaurant from the streetlight at the end of the alley. He saw the ruffled hair, the bulky jacket, the reflection off of dark eyes. He tried to think about that second when their eyes met. He tried to picture a face or a name or anything. There was a glint, a smirk, and then a gun. Nausea rolled through Koushi and something heavy sat on his tongue. He swallowed. “N-no… I did not.” It sounded like a lie, even to his own ears.

For a moment Tooru said nothing, only sighed. He flipped open the manila folder and pulled out a picture, placing it in front of Koushi on the coffee table. “Can you tell me who this?”

The picture was a face-shot of a woman, younger than Koushi remembered but older than the picture he carried in his wallet. He smile was a bit forced, and she looked at the camera intently and passionately. Koushi reached out and ran a thumb across her cheek. “Yui Michimiya,” he found himself saying.

“How do you know her?”

“She was…” His savior? His only hope? The reason he was alive and having this conversation? “A friend.”

“How did you two meet?” Tooru asked after half a second of hesitation.

Koushi looked up from the picture slowly. The attorney leaned forward, eyes still determined but softer around the edges. Koushi knew that expression anywhere: pity. Frowning, he pushed the photo back towards Tooru and sat back, curling into himself once more.

Koushi was aware that his lack of an answer said more than any response he could muster, but his throat was tight and if he didn’t speak he didn’t have to think. And if he didn’t have to think he could keep the thoughts at bay for just a little longer, and continue to pretend that this conversation wasn’t reopening old wounds

Tooru slipped the picture back into the folder and ruffled some papers around. He pulled out another rectangle, same size as Yui’s picture but face down instead of face up. The attorney looked him over once more. Koushi stared back, his heart still in his throat, and nausea still dancing around his stomach, but he stared back.  _ Eye contact; always remember eye contact _ , a gruff voice echoed from one of the dark corners of his mind.

Koushi looked down just as Tooru flipped the picture over. “Can you tell me what this symbol is?”

The black outline of a lily, clearly a tattoo, stared back at Koushi, it’s petals gracefully opened and its stem twisted into a tight note. His chest burned and one of his hands jumped to the spot under his left collarbone. The burn of the needle came back suddenly. The scar tissue just below his collarbone stung. The taste of smoke and ink, heavy on his tongue. Hands were everywhere, grabbing pulling at his arms, his back, his hips, his legs, his face. A small whimper escaped his lips and his covered his mouth to hide it as best as he could. The air was think with perfume, and smoke, and cologne. It seeped into his skin. No matter how many showers he took, not matter how much he scrubbed, even if he scrubbed until he bled, that smell lingered. It hung on his tongue now, heavy, thick. It coated his throat, his nose, his body.

Koushi gagged and curled in on himself.

_ Fag. _

_ Whore. _

_ Look how pretty you are. You hair. Your eyes. Your body. _

_ How much?  _

Koushi still remembered the answer –  _ one hundred per hour. _

Something warm a heavy landed on his shoulder. Koushi yanked and stumbled away, his shoulder burning where it had been touched. “Get away from me!”

“Suga… Sugawara, I...” A hand reached for him, and Koushi stumbled off of the couch backing away until he hit a wall and could go no further.

“No. N-No.” The words came out as broken sobs, teaching through his throat. “I’m d-d-d... I’m done. Done! Get away from me! I’m done!”

“Koushi-”

“Don’t call me that! That’s not me… I’m not him… I’m n-not… I-I’m…” his words stumbled into messy sobs as he leaned into the wall for support. Under him, his legs schook. In front of him, someone shuffled around, drew closer, and when he curled in on himself some more, drew back.

“Suga?” A distant voice, hazy, as if heard through a sea other voices.

_ Whore.  _

_ Slut. _

_ You asked for this. _

_ You enjoy it, just admit it. _

_ You’re a pretty one, aren’t you? _

_ Koushi I know a way you can make money, it’s easy and fun. _

_ Koushi, trust me, you’ll enjoy it. You’ll have everything you ever wanted. _

_ Just trust me, Koushi. Trust me. _

_ I love you. _

Heat rolled around in his stomach. Koushi moved at the last second, crossing the room at a dash heading straight down the hall and into the restroom. He made it to the toilet just in time to empty whatever he had in his stomach.

He coughed and sputtered until only the taste of acid sat on his tongue and the wretched taste of smoke was gone. He sat back on his heels, breathing deeply, blinking away whatever tears were left.

“Uh…”

Koushi’s eyes snapped to the doorway of the restroom, where Tooru stood. The lawyer no longer looked confident and comfortable. He watched Koushi with wide eyes and a pale almost pained look. A second later and his composure was back and his eyes were unreadable once more. “Should I get Mrs. Verano?”

“N-no!” The words came out before he could think. “No… please… p-please don’t tell her.” The lawyer just stared. “P-please….”

Tooru opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed. “Okay.”

The silence that fell between them was thick. Koushi took the chance to wipe his mouth with some toilet paper then flush that and whatever else there was away. He sniffled and placed his heels to his eyes willing whatever thoughts or feelings or tastes or smells or tears there were back inside the dark crevice in which he kept them.

“Just… c-can you go. Please?”

“Are you-”

“Yes!” Koushi snapped, his hands falling away from his face. “Leave! Please.”

There was a second when Tooru hesitated, as though deciding whether to walk forwards or backward. After a moment he took a step back. “I… yes. I’m sorry.”

Pulling his legs up to his chest, Koushi buried his head in his knees listening as the door to the restroom clicked closed. There was some rustling, some more footsteps, and a few moments later there was another faint click. Koushi was alone.

 

* * *

 

 

Daichi tried to start up a conversation, but after ten minutes and a great number of glares from Mrs. Verano he allowed silence to laps over the restaurant. Daichi sat at a table in the corner, having pulled down a chair, and Rosa meandered between the restaurant and the kitchen, sometimes with a broom in her hand, other times a mop, and certain times nothing at all. She didn’t look at him, simply floated through her own little world.

At one point she emerged from the kitchen a bucket and rags in hand. She walked past him and stopped, but did not look in his direction. “Help me move the tables.”

Following her gaze, he realized that she was talking about the patio tables, which were still all pushed to one side, most likely due to the new window that had been installed recently. “Of course,” he said as he stood and followed her out.

For the most part, the tables were easy to move, especially with two people. Daichi just listened to Rosa and set either a table, chair, or umbrella down wherever she said. She carried her own and never failed to remind Daichi when he’d done something wrong or was too slow. The thought of whether or not she treated her employees like that crossed his mind once, but he quickly realized this treatment was probably reserved only for him.

Once the tables were set, she tossed him a rag and pushed the bucket filled with water and bleach between them. They washed the tables in silence. Occasionally, someone would walk by and shout a greeting, which Rosa would return with equal enthusiasm and a large smile that never quite met her eyes.

When the last of the tables were clean, Daichi picked up the bucket and walked it back into the kitchen. He wasn’t sure what he expected from a restaurant kitchen, but it was smaller than he thought it would be, large, yes, but smaller or perhaps just more compact. The countertops gleamed metallic silver and there were knives and cutting boards and utensils everywhere, but it was neat and shiny and quiet and probably nothing like what is was when the restaurant was open.

He placed the bucket by the large sink, as he had been instructed, dumped the rags on a corner where all the other towels were and walked back out into the restaurant to find Rosa sweeping again.

As Daichi sat back down in his corner, the woman stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Grazie,” she said, turning her attention back to whatever she was sweeping.

Daichi, who’s language of choice in high school and college was neither Italian nor Spanish blinked a few times and prayed that he understood her enough to reply with, “you're welcome. It was the least I could do.”

The woman tossed him a small look and huffed. “You’re right about that.”

Before Daichi could even consider responding with a laugh, the staff door opened. Looking up, Daichi glanced over to the attorney and smiled. “That didn’t take you very long at all.”

When Tooru stepped into the light, Daichi found himself standing and casting a questioning look. Tooru gave a small shake of his head, but still wore a confused expression, which was a mixture of the look he wore around his younger cousin – whom Tooru was convinced was from another planet – worry, and what Daichi would have thought was hesitation, but this was Tooru, he never second-guessed his decisions. For anyone else it would have been like they’d seen a ghost, but for Tooru, who had dealt with many a criminal, many a crime scene, and many a bloody picture, Daichi just couldn’t begin to guess what had him looking like that.

In a blink, the nervous look was replaced with a smile, the fake kind Tooru only wore around Wakatoshi when they met in court and Tooru was forced to be civil to the defense attorney. It was bright and gleaming but looked like a plaster mold. If Rosa noticed, and after everything Daichi had experienced in the last forty-five minutes she probably had, she didn’t say anything.

“We had to cut it short. Suga said he wasn’t feeling well and went to lie down. Thank you for having me, if you need anything here is my business card.” Tooru smiled again and passed the small slip of paper over to Rosa. “Thank you again.”

With one last nod and smile, Tooru slipped past Daichi, grabbed him by the arm, and practically dragged him out of the restaurant before Rosa could even open her mouth.

When they were halfway down the block and Tooru finally released his arm, Daichi turned and gave the attorney a hard look over. “Tooru what’s-”

Tooru frowned then cut off Daichi without so much as a glance, “What’s the name of that friend of yours, the one with the terrible hair?”

Daichi blinked. “Are you talking about Tetsurou?”

“No, no!” The attorney snapped. “The psychologist. The one who occasionally does your team’s evaluations. He’s ridiculously loud for a shrink. I say so every time I see him.”

“Oh, you mean Koutarou Bokuto. Why do you need him? Was your witness that hard to handle?” Tooru shot him a glare and Daichi fell silent. The attorney could certainly be frightening when need be. Daichi sent a silent prayer for any fool who had to go up against Tooru Oikawa in court.

The light turned green and the crosswalk blinked in their favor. Tooru set a furious pace across the street and Daichi stumbled after him, cursing his short legs. “I need you to schedule an appointment with him. I want to see if I can get my witness and your shrink to have a meeting.”

“Why is any of this necessary?”

They stopped at another corner and Tooru hit the button with a little bit too much force. “Because I just spent forty-five minutes with a witness who barely brushed over the murder even though he admitted to being shot at, refused to talk about a victim in a past crime though he clearly knew her, and had a panic attack upon seeing the White Lilies’ brand.”

“He had a panic attack?” Daichi said, a bit too loud because the woman beside them gave them a rather odd look before he continued. “Suga had a panic attack and you just got up and left!”

Tooru pinched the spot between his eyes and moved his hand to one side of his head, massaging his temple slowly. “There wasn’t much I could do, and I clearly couldn’t continue questioning him, so yes, I left.”

“You left him alone after he had a panic attack?”

“He locked himself in the bathroom!” Tooru snapped and started across the street, walking slower this time to let the woman, who was still sending questioning looks in their direction, pass them by. “I had to leave. He didn’t want me there and I just… I’m a lawyer Daichi, not a doctor and certainly not a therapist. I don’t know what to do in these situations.” Tooru chewed at the bottom of his lip for a second and then sighed. “I don’t think he’s ever talked about what happened when he was missing for those two and a half years. I think he was part of them Daichi, not by choice but by force. I think the White Lilies picked him up and took him in. What happened after that I can’t say, but I don’t think it was anything good.”

“What makes you say that?” Daichi asked, softly, tentatively.

“The guy had a panic attack after seeing one picture of one tattoo. He clearly knew what it was, and it brought back memories of some kind.”

Something welled inside of Daichi’s chest. He’d joined the police force to help people and here was the kind soul, alone, suffering and scared. It felt wrong to just leave Suga there. “Is there anything we can do to help him?”

Tooru let out a breath. “Yes. Get a hold of Dr. Bukoto for me and tell me when he can come over to the station. I’ll find a way to bring Mr. Sugawara down for more questioning.” 

“Okay fine.” Daichi followed Tooru around the corner, the police headquarters falling into sight ahead of them. “Wait, why am I the one calling and setting up an appointment with Koutarou, shouldn’t you do that?”

Tooru glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. “I don’t feel like it.”


	11. Investigation - Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per usual I can never power on a schedule... Well, I hope you enjoy this long chapter anyways.
> 
> TW: mentions of past prostitution and a semi-threatening note

_Thursday, May 26, 2016_

_10:23 pm_

“Rough week?” Tetsurou asked as he set down two bags worth of take-out for the second time in four days.

Ryu and Yuu didn’t even have it in them to be excited, they just groaned in response and mumbled their thanks as they took their containers. Chikara offered Tetsurou a smile and a nod; Daichi couldn’t help but wonder where he got the energy.

“You could say that. There’s just been a lot of work over the course of a few days,” Chikara said and meandered back to his desk.

“Funny how the good weeks are the ones where we don’t have any work,” Tetsurou replied with a humorless smile, weaving through the desks to pass around the rest of the boxes before coming to stop in front of Daichi. “What’s the case? Still the one with Restaurant Guy?”

“We’re taking a break from that one actually,” Daichi said through clenched teeth because that was easier to say than admitting that Koushi Sugawara hadn’t been in contact with them for over twenty-four hours and the murderer was still out among the general public.

“Then why are you in here so late?”

“Another mess,” Daichi sighed.

Tetsurou snorted. “What kind of mess?”

“A some-asshole-got-pissed-at-his-girlfriend-and-stabbed-her-twenty-three-times kind of mess,” Hajime grumbled as he erased the last ruminants of writing on the murder board before spinning it back around so that the Sugawara case was facing forward.

Tetsurou let out a dry laugh. “That’s a bit… excessive.”

“I think stabbing anyone even once is a bit excessive,” Daichi said, pushing the door to his office.

Tetsurou trailed after him, plopping down on one of the chairs and kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. Daichi shot him a glare but sat behind his desk. He didn’t have the energy to do anything else. He opened the box, expecting to find some form of pasta, but instead two kabobs on rice sat in front of him.

“Figured now would not be the time for Italian,” Tetsurou said when Daichi tossed him a questioning look. “Also figured that if you liked the food enough you now had even more incentive to get it for yourself.”

“What are you talking about?” Daichi asked over the statement that their girlfriend-stabber had written out instead of requesting a lawyer and going to court. Tooru had better thank Daichi later for saving him from yet another long and useless trial.  

“An annoying little lawyer told me that a certain Restaurant Guy is _just_ your type: kind face, light hair, cute.”

A groan escaped Daichi’s lips. “I do not think that our witness for two murders and _client_ is cute.” Tetsurou raised an eyebrow as his lips curled into that shit-eating grin that always left Daichi feeling like he needed to punch something. He couldn’t help but wonder how Kenma hadn’t already. “Besides, even if I did find him… _attractive_ , some of us don’t do well mixing relationships and work.”

Tetsurou clicked his tongue. “You don’t like mixing anything with work.”

“Murder and life don’t go together very well.”

“Some people would disagree.”

“Yes, well those people end up in jail.” Daichi huffed and took a bit of the kabob. “Why are you here?” Tetsurou opened his mouth but Daichi cut him off. “Aside from being _such a nice person_ and bringing us food, again. Why are you in my office?”

“Oh right!” Tetsurou’s feet slid off the table and he sat up a bit straighter to fish his phone from his pocket. “Bo texted me back and said that an appointment canceled tomorrow morning so he rearranged things and is now available anytime after three if that works for your witness.”

Daichi smiled and tried not to let that expression fall. One party was good, free and communicating with them, the other party could have left for China and they wouldn’t know. Daichi nodded. “That’s great. How long does Koutarou have? Just so I can give DDA Oikawa and our witness the times.”

Tetsurou’s attention fell to his phone. He typed a few things and not two seconds later a hooting ping echoed and nearly caused Daichi to jump out of his skin, or at least his chair. “Bo said that he can stay as late as needed tomorrow.”

Daichi nodded, unlocking his own phone and opening the texting app. Tooru’s name appeared first, which wasn’t terribly upsetting but for the fact that most of the conversations were about murders and trials.

“I’ll let Tooru know,” Daichi said, already typing out a message to the lawyer. “Give Koutarou my thanks and tell him to get here sometime around three thirty.”

Tetsurou smiled. “Will do, Captain.” For a second the room was quiet, minus the soft sounds of keyboard clicking and Daichi’s chewing. After receiving another hooting reply Tetsurou looked up. “So… was your resident lawyer right? Do you think Restaurant Guys is cute? Cause after seeing his picture, I can totally see how he’s your type.”

Daichi groaned and let his head fall against his desk.

 

* * *

 

_Friday, May 27, 2016_

_3:45 pm_

Rosa pulled up in front of the building and for a second Koushi considered asking her to turn around and take him home. His head was pounding, his heart racing, and he felt sick despite having only eaten a single slice of toast. A careful, almost tentative hand brushed his arm, not quite there, not quite away. That’s how all of her touches had been since she had come upstairs to find him locked in his room: small, flickering, tentative like she was dealing with a stray animal that needed to learn how to trust.

“Stai bene? You don’t have to do this, Tesoro.”

Koushi turned to face Rosa and gave her a small nod. “Sì, sì. Sto bene.”

Her hand slipped off his arm, and a smile ghosted her lips, but her forehead remained wrinkled with worry, and her eyes themselves seemed to reflect all the fear and anxiety swarming his mind.

Before she could say anything that might make him reconsider, Koushi pushed open the door, grabbed the small backpack he brought, and stepped out of the car. “I’ll let you know when you can come pick me up, alright?” She nodded, but her smile slipped into a slight frown. “I promise I’ll call if anything happens.” He closed the door and turned, stepping up onto the sidewalk.

“Tesoro?” Koushi turned to the car. “Ti amo.”

Despite the ache in his chest and the twisting in his gut because of those words, a small grin slid across his lips. “Ti amo anch’io. Arrivederci.” He gave a little wave and watched the car pull away from the curb and merge into the traffic.

Spinning around to look at the building head on, Koushi sighed. He started across the sidewalk and with every step, it became harder to breathe and the pounding in his head amplified. Rosa loved him. He knew that. After five years, it was clear she thought of him as another son. But would she still love him if she found out he’d been lying to her? Would she love him if she found out about his previous job? About the number of hands that touched him and the number of lips that-

A blast of cool air hit him as the door to the lobby opened. His mind was cleared as he stepped out of the afternoon heat and into the sharp chill. Those were things he could think of and ponder at night when he had nothing better to do but stare up at his ceiling and wait for sleep. Those were not thoughts that could interrupt him now, not when he had things to do. The sooner he did this the sooner he could go back to Suga Michimiya’s life and forget that Koushi Sugawara ever existed.

The woman behind the desk looked up and waved at him. Koushi forced himself to return the gesture. He stopped in front of the elevators, waited for a few painfully quiet seconds, then stepped inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

_In and out,_ Koushi told himself _. Just a quick evaluation to make sure your statement is accurate. They just want to make sure you’re not a nut-job._ After what happened on Wednesday he couldn’t blame them, but he could grumble and complain under his breath. At least he’d found someone to cover his shift, though the idea of leaving Shouyou anywhere in the kitchen only caused another batch of nervous butterflies to flap around in his gut.

The elevator came to a slow stop and, after a moment of pausing like it was contemplating its sorry existence, decided to open its doors and let Koushi out onto the fifth floor. The quietness he had been experiencing in the lobby and the elevator was gone, dispersed by heavy laughter echoing from around the corner. Koushi took a moment to collect himself, which was no simple task when surrounded by obnoxious guffawing, before making his way down the hall.

“The best part was, in order to avoid one poll he just ended up running into another!” The laughing only seemed to grow as more voices joined in.

“Geez, how many drinks did he have?”

“Three when I was watching, but probably a few more behind my back.”

Koushi stopped where the hall opened up to a wide room with a white board and multiple desks. Most of the desks were empty, save for a few scowling faces who were typing and writing away. The guy with the spiked hair, Lieutenant Iwaizumi if Koushi could remember, was even on the phone. Koushi took a moment wonder how he heard anything over the loud and apparently hilarious storytelling. For the most part, the officers were standing in a group in the back, laughing and chattering. Koushi recognized most of them and could probably name them if given enough time, but there was one face he didn’t recognize. Standing so that his profile faced Koushi, was a man, taller than most of the rest of the group, with grey-streaked hair slicked back. He was the one in the group who stopped and glanced toward Koushi, their gazes meeting for a second.

“Hey, hey, hey! It appears you have a visitor!” He said, his voice much too loud for such a confined space, especially considering that most everyone was next to or around him.

A dark haired individual peered around the group, Lieutenant Ennoshita. “Oh! Mr. Michimiya, welcome. Tobio, go tell the captain that our guest is here and Hajime, call Oikawa.”

The man at the desk looked up and pulled the phone away from his ear. If he’d been frowning before now he was glowering. “I’m already on the phone! Why do I have to call the asshole? You call him!”

“You deal with him the best and I don’t want to,” Lieutenant Ennoshita said. “Just call him when you’re done with that.”

Lieutenant Iwaizumi looked like he was about to reply when the Captain stepped out of his office. Captain Sawamura looked Koushi over and his face broke into an easy smile that Koushi didn’t understand. “Mr. Michimiya, it’s good to see you. Thank you so much for coming.” It wasn’t like he’d been given much of a choice, but Koushi nodded anyway. “This is Dr. Bokuto,” the Captain gestured to the loud man with ridiculous hair. “He will be the one to give you a quick evaluation. Lieutenant Ennoshita will take you to Conference Room A. Feel free to take as long as you want, and should either of you need anything, feel free to ask anyone here.”

Koushi found himself trailing two men down the hall. Then he was in the conference room, the same on as before, with a glass table, sofa, and shelves along the wall. The lieutenant exchanged some words with the doctor, and then Koushi was alone with Dr. Bokuto, who looked less like a psychologist and more like a mad scientist. Or an athlete, he certainly had the body for it, even Koushi could admit that.

“Hello again, I’m Dr. Bokuto but just call me Koutarou.”

The doctor held out his hand and Koushi took it. “I’m…” he faulted, paused, then said, “Suga Michimiya. Please call me Suga.”

Dr. Bokuto, or Koutarou as it was, was a bit too loud and shook his hand with a bit too much force, but when he sat down across from Koushi organizing his papers and pulling up a new, yellow legal pad he had a serious expression that Koushi hadn’t been expecting from someone who had been laughing about drinking not five minutes earlier.

“Before we start I need to say this. Anything you say here is confidential and protected under client privacy laws and client privilege. Unless you are planning on hurting yourself or someone else I cannot talk to anyone about what is said here, not even the police, as much as I’m sure they’d love to hear it. I already read a brief on you and on this case to understand what is going on, but you can talk about anything you like. This is your time. Do you understand?”

Koushi blinked. “Oh… um, yes. Sure.” He wasn’t sure if the thought that none of this would leave the conference room made him more or less nervous, but he found himself sitting up a bit straighter as tension piled itself in his shoulders and hands.

Koutarou smiled a bright smile that seemed a little too large. “Now that you understand everything, I hope you can be honest with me. Is there anything you’d like to talk about, or do you want me to just ask questions and we can go from there?”

“Uh… questions will be fine.” Koushi said softly, licking his lips. His hands found their ways into his lap and he was back to picking the subs of his nails in seconds.

Koutarou smiled again. “Great. So, tell me about yourself. You’re working at a restaurant. How did you begin working there? Did you go to culinary school?”

“It’s nothing like that,” Koushi said settling back into the chair. Maybe this would be easier than he had thought.

 

* * *

 

Daichi didn’t glance up from his laptop as the door to his office opened.

“I called Oikawa, he’s on his way. Said he’d be around twenty minutes or so. Though knowing him my guess would be closer to thirty.”

“Okay,” Daichi hummed as he finished a reply to an email and sent it off. “Thank you, Hajime.”

“No problem, sir.”

Daichi opened another email and sighed. The press wanted another conference about the Restaurant Shooting – a terrible name considering it took place next to a restaurant and not in it, but the press had used the name once and now there was no changing it. People were getting antsy after four days of hearing little about possible suspects or what was happening with the investigation. Daichi couldn’t blame them, but what was he supposed to say? That they had a witness who wasn’t cooperating with them? That they suspected this was a gang shooting? That the murder was still at large? They hadn’t even released the identity of the victim, calming that they needed more evidence and time. More time had come and gone, and the “more evidence” excuse wouldn’t hold out for too much longer. They needed to get things moving, quickly.

Daichi opened up a new email and began typing something out. He’d send this to Chief Takeda and let him deal with it. The Chief had always been better at managing the press anyway. Daichi couldn’t stand the cameras and the lights and the questions flying at him five at a time. Murder and blood were one thing, it was straightforward, the only thing needed was evidence and a mind to put the pieces together. Public speaking was a whole other can of worms, one that dealt with live people, who - when compared to dead bodies - were much less predictable and considerably more difficult to handle.

He was half way through composing the email when the phone on his desk rang nearly sending him to the floor. He didn’t even glance at the number. It was probably Tooru making some excuse for why he’d be even later than Hajime predicted, and picked up the phone, tucking it between his shoulder and his ear.

Daichi turned back to the email as he spoke. “Captain Sawamura of Homicides and Major Crimes, how can I help?”

“M-Mr. Sawamura, it’s Rosalinda Verano.”

Daichi almost didn’t recognize her voice it was so small and shaky. He pulled his eyes from his computer and let his hands rest on the keyboard. “Mrs. Verano? Is everything okay? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she was quick to say. “But… I think there’s someone in my house, or someone was in my house.”

Daichi was out of his chair in a second. “What do you mean?”

“Shouyou and I were doing some prep work for tomorrow. It’s been a bad week so we closed early today to let everyone catch their breath, and we thought we heard a bang and someone walking around. We haven’t heard anything since but-”

“Find an exit and stay right where you are.” Daichi threw on his jacket. “I’ll be over with a few officers in a minute. You called my office number but if you need to call again, here’s my cell.” He recited the numbers slowly, twice. “We’ll be over as soon as we can. Stay still and call me if anything else happens.”

After a quick goodbye and a soft thank you from Mrs. Verano, Daichi was out of his office. “Hajime and Tobio come with me, someone grab either Kei or Tadashi, whoever isn’t busy.”

Hajime and Tobio rose from their desks without question as Chikara scurried off to the tech room. “What’s going on?” Hajime asked, shrugging on his jacket.

“I just received a call from Mrs. Verano. She thinks someone broke into her apartment. With any luck, it’s our killer.”

“Wait why did she call us and not the police? Is the person still even there?” Hajime asked.

“I don’t know and I dind’t ask. We’ll figure that out when we get there. Tadashi, perfect timing.” The freckled boy jogged down the hall, backpack, no doubt stuffed with equipment, tossed haphazardly over his shoulder. “Chikara, keep an eye on our witness. I can’t imagine they’ll be done anytime soon, but make sure he doesn’t leave until we come back, okay? And let Tooru know that I might not be back for a while.”

With that, they started down the hall.

Driving to the restaurant was the longest seven minutes Daichi could remember. They decided it would draw less attention to move in an unmarked car, but of course, that had its disadvantages. Daichi ended up just parking in a red-zone, he’d deal with the ticket later, and jumped out. Hajime, Tobio, and Tadashi followed suit. They crossed the street and stopped in front of the restaurant. It appeared empty, minus the dim light in the back, but when Daichi tested the door it opened without a sound.

“Tadashi, you go in the kitchen and check up on Mrs. Verano and Mr. Hinata. Hajime, Tobio, come with me.”

Generally, Daichi would have brought more backup, but Ryu and Yuu were busy with another case and Chikara had to wait for Tooru and keep an eye out on their witness. The last thing Daichi wanted was for Suga to return to the scene while the person who might have tried to kill him not five days earlier was there. He wouldn’t allow for Suga to be injured. Tooru needed him as a witness.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and listened. The hall was silent, the air was still, and yet Daichi found it hard to breathe. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded. Together, they moved up the stairs, slowly and softly.

The door leading to the apartment was closed. Daichi put his ear to it and listened. Silence. Was that the rustling or a drape? The wind or his imagination? After another nod to his partners, Daichi took a breath and knocked on the door. “LAPD we’re coming in.”

When there was no response, he pushed open the door just enough for the three of them to squeeze in. From there they split up, fanning the apartment. Hajime went left with Tobio, Daichi went right.

He peered into the kitchen nothing. “Clear!” He said the first time he allowed his voice to echo through the house.

From off in the hallway he heard “Clear!”

Then from another part of the house a soft, “clear!”

He scanned the living room. “Clear!”

“Clear!” Echoed from behind yet another wall.

Daichi opened up a closet that was piled with so many things that no person, no matter how small, could fit. “Clear!” Daichi yelled again, turning to walk back into the living room.

“Hey, in here!” Hajime’s voice was muffled but loud enough for Daichi to hear. That was all he needed to. Without another thought, he turned and jogged to the room, which was easy to find in the small apartment.

Daichi found Tobio and Hajime in a room to the right of the bathroom. It was a bedroom, neat and simplistic, colored with greys and blues and off whites. Suga’s bedroom, most likely. The room was comfy, a small bed, a bookshelf, a desk.  The desk was piled with textbooks; he had mentioned he was a student at some point, hadn’t he? Daichi couldn’t help but wonder what he was studying – history and psychology by the looks of it. Blinking, Daichi turned his attention to the lieutenant. “What’s up?”

Hajime stepped back and gestured to the bed. Daichi looked around the lieutenant his breath died in his lungs. A folded note sat on the bed, but what was more disturbing, was the white, trumpet-shaped flower laid over the note. Just past the foot of the bed, a window stood open, letting in hot city air.

“No one touch anything,” Daichi said first, though it was obvious enough. “Tobio, go get Tadashi to come up here and tell him to bring Mrs. Verano. It doesn’t look like anything’s been moved but I want to make sure that nothing is missing. Stay down there with whatever staff is there and don’t let them leave, we’ll need to get their statements.”

Tobio nodded, still scowling but he looked determined. Daichi turned back to Hajime. “Scan the rooms quickly to see anything has been shifted or moved.”

Hajime nodded and left the room. Now that there weren’t three people crowding it, Daichi got a better look. It was small but cozy, clean but not unlived in. Beside the closet door was a shelf overflowing with books. Hanging from the wall above the desk was a corkboard, which had a calendar and various sticky-notes and pictures.

Suga was only a few and while he was smiling in all of them, there was something behind that smile that Daichi couldn’t quite place. The same people were shown throughout the photos: Asahi, Shouyou, Mrs. Verano, and a handful of other people Daichi didn’t recognize. There were two pictures of a larger group, but those pictures were taken in front of Rosalinda’s restaurant and everyone was in uniform. Each photo was dated in the bottom right corner. Suga lacked any photographs before late 2011.

Forcing his eyes away from the corkboard, Daichi crossed the room and stood beside the edge of the twin bed, looking out the open window. Along the outside of the window was an old and rusted fire escape that ran all the way down to the alleyway below. Someone who was trained or desperate enough could climb up easily, but it wouldn’t have been quiet.

“Captain Sawamura?” A voice called.

Pulling himself away from the window, Daichi sighed and walked back to the living room where a fidgety Tadashi and concerned Rosalinda stood. He gave them a reassuring smile, the kind he’d trained himself to put on during any case. “I was just checking around the bedrooms one last time. It doesn't look like anything has been moved.” Mrs. Verano’s face fell, twisting into a confused frown. “However, that doesn’t mean no one was here. I want you to walk us around the apartment and let us know if you see anything out of the ordinary, but please, don’t touch anything. We’ll sweep for prints once we are done with this and know where to concentrate. If it’s alright with you I’d like to film this for possible evidence.”

“Yes, that’s fine with me.”

They started in the living room. Mrs. Verano walked around the couch and coffee table in slow circles, her eyes dancing over every surface, stopping to stare at pictures or at random details. When nothing was found there, they moved to the kitchen, Tadashi trailing behind them and standing off to the side. When Rosa wanted to check inside the cupboards, Daichi offered to open them as he was wearing gloves.

They moved to the bedrooms and bathroom next. Daichi herded her towards her own room first. He caught Tadashi’s gaze, the younger man watched him with trust, no doubt, but there was a question behind his eyes. Daichi nodded slightly before walking into the room and glancing around. He hadn’t looked in here, Hajime and Tobio had, but it appeared to be put together nonetheless. It was just as clean as Suga’s room had been, even the layout was similar, but the colors were richer. There was a bed against one wall, dresser against another, and a desk off to the side, placed under a large window.

Mrs. Verano’s voice pulled Daichi from his thoughts and he crossed the room, opening the drawers she asked him to. Atop the bedside table were a few pictures, the closest one was a shot of Suga smiling, his arm thrown over Mrs. Verano’s shoulders as she laughed. To the right of that picture was one of three kids. The frame behind them all was the largest and was simply a picture of a man with dark hair and dark eyes, smiling at whoever was behind the camera.

“My husband,” Mrs. Verano said softly.

Daichi stumbled away from the table muttering an apology as he closed the bottom drawer she had just been looking into.

“Va bene. Come on, no one’s been in here. Let’s take a look at Suga’s room.”

“The bathroom?” Tadashi asked.

Mrs. Verano waved her hand. “No one would look in there for anything. The second bedroom is the only other place any intelligent robber would go.”

Tadashi sent a worried look to Daichi. With a smile, Daichi simply nodded. She was right, the bathroom wasn’t important, and if need be they could look at it later. With one last glance around the bedroom, Daichi turned and followed the small woman across the hall.

“I’m sorry for calling you. It seems that nothing- Oh mi dio!” Rosa crossed the room in a rush, and Daichi followed signaling to Tadashi to follow. “A… lily. Again?”

“Again?” Daichi repeated. “Don’t touch that! Please.”

Mrs. Verano took a step away from the bed, holding her hands to her chest as though she had burned them. “Yes, again. I found another one in front of the doors to the restaurant… when did you come to speak with Suga. Yesterday? Wednesday? I don’t know! This whole week has started to blur together.”

“You found another flower, just like this one?” Daichi asked, stepping to the side and gently guiding Mrs. Verano to follow him so that Tadashi could get a clear shot of the bed and what sat on it.

“Sì. I put it in the kitchen. I didn’t think much of it. Suga was so surprised by the last one, I didn’t think he’d go out to buy one.”

“Who else has been up in the apartment today?”

“Suga was catching up on some schoolwork earlier today, but you and your officers were the first ones up since he left. Unless… do you think someone broke in?”

Daichi didn’t answer the question, only lifted his gaze to the window, still wide open as he and Hajime had found it. “Does Mr. Michimiya usually leave that window open?”

Mrs. Verano glanced his way before looking up and over the bed. She sucked in a quick breath and moved around the bed. “He always keeps it cracked open, it gets very stuffy, but it wasn’t fully open, at least not this morning.”

“Could he have opened it when he was studying?” Daichi asked.

“Possibly, though I can’t imagine he would.”

“Tadashi, get a shot of that window and what’s outside of it. Once you finish up here, go downstairs and around the side of the building. Check on Hajime, while you’re there. I think he went to look around for another entry point or he’s getting statements from the staff with Tobio.”

As the videographer went around the room one last time, Daichi turned back to the older woman, watching them with wide eyes. “Who would break in just to leave a note and a flower?”

Daichi looked at the lily again and frowned. “Mrs. Verano, if you would join me in walking down stairs.” She nodded and trailed along silently, hand still over her mouth and eyes still unfocused.

“Are you sure nothing was stolen or removed from the apartment?” Daichi asked once they were in the living room.

Mrs. Verano nodded and mumbled, “Sì, sì.”

“If you come to believe that something was taken, call my office again. Alright?”

She nodded again. They started down the stairs.

“You said you found another flower, where did you find it?” Daichi hated asking questions to someone clearly so shaken, but they needed information and hopefully, this would keep her mind busy.

“In front of the door to the restaurant.”

“Was there anything with that flower?”

Mrs. Verano shook her head. “I looked for a note but didn’t find anything.”

“And that was yesterday?”

“Yes… no. It was Wednesday.”

“Alright, thank you.”

They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked through the door that led directly into the kitchen. When they stepped inside they were met with a cacophony of yelling and something rattling across the ground.

“You dropped it again, dumbass.”

“I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been in the way!”

Daichi and Rosa wove through the kitchen and found Shouyou and Tobio face-to-face. A pot lay on the ground between them.

“What is going on here, Piccolo?”

Shouyou scooped the pot up and straightened up almost instantly. “S-sorry Mrs. Rosa, I was just finishing drying the dishes.”

“Grazie. Set that down and go home.”

Shouyou frowned. “But-”

“You’ve been very helpful today, and don’t you have a test on Monday?” The boy looked at his feet and nodded slightly. “Then go study. You’ll be here all of tomorrow anyway.” The young man opened his mouth but Rosa waved him away. “Go, go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Fine,” he huffed, setting the pot down on the counter beside the sink.

“Arrivederci, Piccolo.”

“Ciao, Rosa!”

As Shouyou walked out of the kitchen, Daichi turned to Tobio, frowning. The young man looked at his feet, but Daichi couldn’t help but notice the pink that collared the bridge of his nose. “Detective, did you see where Hajime went?”

“I think he went to the side alley,” the boy muttered.

“Thank you. Stay here and help Rosa put away the dishes. I’ll get Hajime and then the three of us can do some fingerprinting.”

Hajime was in the side alley just as Tobio said he would be. Tadashi was out with him, filming the pipeline and old stairwell that the robber – person? Since nothing had been stolen – had used to get in. Once the evidence was gathered and Hajime proved that yes, someone could jump, grab the bottom ring, and pull themselves up, the three went inside, picked up Tobio, and headed upstairs to collect the fingerprints they needed.

Tadashi filmed the entire thing, and fifteen minutes later, after they dusted the windowsill, the note, and the flower, they had found no promising prints. They had found prints on the windowsill, but those were most likely Suga’s since the letter and flower were clean. The only helpful thing they found was a strand of dark hair.

“No prints, but possible DNA,” Hajime said, zipping up the hair in a small bag. “I think that’s as good as we’re going to get.”

Daichi nodded. “Tobio, can you hand me the bag with the letter.” Tobio passed on the letter without any hesitation, though he did have a slightly questioning look. Hajime simply raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to read the letter, then call Tooru and see where we go from here,” Daichi explained as he unzipped the bag.

“Why? Can’t you just talk to him when we get back to headquarters?”

“Suga… er Koushi is _his_ witness and right now, Suga-wara doesn’t know about the break in or the note. Besides, the note might not even be threatening.”

“It was left with a lily.”

“We can’t say that means anything. Besides, the note might have fingerprints.” With one final huff, Daichi broke the seal of the envelope and pulled out the letter inside, a single strip of paper.

_You know what happens to runaways._

The note was signed with a looping W and L connected by a swirl underneath them. Daichi sighed and passed the note to Tobio who looked at it and scowled more than usual before passing it off to Hajime who just shook his head.

“If we had any doubt as to who sent it before well… now it’s pretty clear.”

“The question is, do we tell Suga or do we let Rosa do it?” Hajime shook his head and shrugged and Tobio, who had glanced to Hajime, followed suit with a shrug.

Sighing, Daichi passed the bag back off to Tobio and pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Tooru,” he mumbled, leaving the room.

The lawyer picked up after two rings. “Yes, Daichi? How may my brilliance be of service to you, yet again?”

“What did Chikara tell you?” He asked, crossing the room to lean against the bar that looked into the kitchen.

“Just that you got a call, grabbed Hajime, Tadashi, and Tobio, and left in a hurry. How is Hajime doing? I’m surprised you didn’t have him call me.”

“He’s fine,” Daichi rolled his eyes. “I got a call from Mrs. Verano, she was sure someone was in her house. We checked, and nothing appears to have been taken but… a letter was left behind along with a flower.”

“A letter?”

“Yes. It was left on Suga’s bed I just…” He let out a breath hoping that would loosen some of the tension in his chest. It didn’t. “I didn’t have a good feeling about it so we opened it. All it said was ‘you know what happens to runaways,’ and then was signed with a W and L.”

The other end of the line was silence, but Daichi knew Tooru was still there. After a few seconds there was a sigh and then, “you said there was a flower as well?”

“Yeah, a lily.”

Another beat of silence. “Did you find anything else?”

“No prints on the letter or flower., but we did find a hair that we think might belong to our backward robber, We picked some prints off of the windowsill we think was used as the break-in point, but they’re unlikely to be of any help. Which brings me to my question: do we tell Sugawara when we get back, do we let Rosa tell him about the break in, or do we make sure this doesn’t get out?”

Tooru sighed again. “Well, Mr. Sugawara is still in the conference room with Dr. Bokuto. I don’t know how much longer they’ll take or what they’re even talking about. All things considered, I think it would be in poor taste for us to be the ones to tell him that his house was broken into and a threatening letter was left, and I don’t think you should tell Mrs. Verano not to tell him. Let her tell him when the time is right.”

“Sounds good. I need to speak with Mrs. Verano a bit more and get her statement, but then we’re heading back. We’ll you soon.”

“Bye Daichi. Tell Hajime I say hello!” With that, the line went dead.

Daichi pushed off the bar and slid his phone back into his pocket as he walked across the living space and poked his head into the hall. “Guys?” Three bodies suddenly appeared in the hallway. “Let’s ask Mrs. Verano if we can take the note and flowers as evidence then head out. Tobio, can you grab the second flower from the kitchen?”

With a nod, the boy walked passed Daichi and across the living room. He rejoined them by the front door and together, the four of them walked down the stairs and into the restaurant’s kitchen where they found Rosa, putting away dishes and setting out equipment and things for the next day. She didn’t glance up at them but did shift slightly when they came in.

“Did you get what you need?”

“We did,” Daichi said. “I was wondering if we could take the letter and both flowers back to headquarters and file them as evidence.”

Rosa’s hands tightened around the handles of the pot. She looked over at them and watched with kind eyes that bore into him skin and buried themselves into his thoughts. “Did the letter contain anything… threatening?”

Daichi paused for a moment to consider then nodded. “Yes, it did.”

Rosa released a long breath and set the pot on the table, though she still clung to it like it was the one thing that kept her standing. She glared into the pot then spat, “take them.”

“Thank you.”

“Have a good day,” she said, looking up suddenly, her eyes darting between them and the door that led out to the restaurant.

Daichi nodded. “Same to you. Have a good evening, and thank you again.”

They exited the kitchen and trailed out of the restaurant. Daichi glanced back at the small bag still clutched in Hajime’s hand. Their only lead. After another sigh, he turned and the four of them started back towards the car.


	12. Investigation - Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me actually getting something up early. This is another long chapter, though the last section is totally self-indulgent because I wanted to write something from Keiji's pov. 
> 
> TW: mentions of a panic attack, mentions of underage drinking and drug use
> 
> Side Note: there is a comment about medication (for anxiety/depression) that I feel should be addressed. Medication is NOTHING to be ashamed of, though often times we are told by society that is it I do not take medication for my anxiety - because of the stigma my parents won't let me - but I have many friends who do. It is a fact of life, and something that Suga doesn't understand, hence his comments about it.

_Friday, May 27, 2016_

_6:47 pm_

Koushi wiped his eyes with a tissue and tossed it into the wastebasket. As a student and full-time employee he was used to being tired, but this was different. He felt drained. It was like all the energy in his body had been sucked out, leaving only enough energy to keep his heart pumping, even breathing was exhausting.

“We’ll end our session here,” Dr. Bokuto said with a small smile as he flipped back to the first page of his notepad. “You’re probably tired.” Koushi must have given him a questioning look, or at least there was something in his expression because the doctor continued, “most people feel that way after a panic attack. I’d recommend taking the rest of the evening easy and getting lots of sleep. Are you sure you haven’t reconsidered-”

“I don’t want any pills,” Koushi meant for the words to have bite behind them, but instead they just sounded weak and flimsy. “I… I’ll deal with it. Thank you.”

“Are you sure? They can help lower the intensity of such attacks.”

“I’m positive. Thanks.”

Koushi pushed himself off the couch. They had moved about twenty minutes into their session to be more comfortable and not have a table between them, or so Koutarou had said. Koushi was pretty sure that the doctor was just concerned that Koushi would hurt himself with his constant fidgeting.

Running his hands together, Koushi sighed. His nails were stubs - no surprise there - and were considerably bloodier than they had been when the session began. He ran his hands down his face before walking to the door. He stopped and looked back at the colorful doctor. “Well um… thank you for listening and uh… I passed the evaluation or whatever, right?”

Dr. Bokuto beamed and slapped him on the arm a bit too hard, causing Koushi to flinch. “It’s my job you know, and you’re fine. This was a psyche eval, not a test. If you need someone to talk to, here’s my card.”

Koushi took the card carefully and slipped it into the pocket of his jacket. “Thanks. How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing! Consider this a consultation.” Koutarou walked past him and opened up the door. “You can go, and I’m fee most Thursday afternoons and a few other days if you would like to meet again. Just call the number on the card.”

Koushi frowned. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good!”

Koutarou walked into the hall, and Koushi followed trying not to drag his feet. Resting and turning in early sounded like a great plan, except for the fact that he still had school work, and Rosa no doubt needed help cleaning up and prepping for tomorrow. Speaking of Rosa, he needed to text her that he was finally done. He pulled out his phone and turned it on – he had decided to turn it off in the beginning of the session. It was almost six fifty, hopefully, she wasn’t too worried about him.

When he opened the texting app, he realized that she hadn’t texted him once. That was good, he supposed, though odd. Koushi clicked on her name and started up a message, letting her know that she could swing by a get him, though he could walk if need be. He sent the message and let his phone slid back into his pocket. Koushi looked up and stopped. “Oh… Mr. Oikawa.”

Tooru smiled and looked between Koushi and the doctor who had stopped at the end of the hall as well. “Suga, and you must be Dr. Bokuto. Tooru Oikawa, deputy district attorney, it’s a pleasure.” The attorney stepped forward and held out his hand like it was the easiest thing in the world. His smile made him look confident, and the way he walked made it look like he owned whatever room he was in.

Koutarou took his hand and shook it with vigor. If it hurt, Koushi didn’t know. Tooru just kept smiling. “Dr. Koutarou Bokuto.”

“I hope my witness did well.”

Dr. Bokuto smiled again, “Yeah, he did fine.”

Koushi glanced down at his phone. Rosa had texted him back. He let out a small breath, he wasn’t in the mood or mindset to deal with any of this. “It’s nice to see you Mr. Oikawa-”

“Tooru,” the attorney corrected.

“I should be heading back though, so I hope you didn’t have anything you needed from me.”

Tooru shook his head and gave Koushi and almost playful smile. “Not this time. I stopped by to speak with the captain, but it appears that he’s not here. Though I would like to finish our discussion.”

Tooru’s light and easy gaze shifted when Koushi met it for the second time. The lawyer was trying to read him, peer into his soul, get a sneak peek at his thoughts. Koushi hid behind a mask of exhaustion and small smiles.

He replied, “I really must go. Thank you again, Dr. Bokuto, goodbye Mr. Oikawa.” Before anyone could say anything else, Koushi turned and started down the hall towards the elevators.

He pressed the down button and backed up so that he was leaning against the wall between two pictures. He let out a long breath. Air, he needed air to clear his head and to energize him. As he stood waiting for the elevator, Koushi expected the thoughts to come pouring in, especially after talking so much. But his mind was so drained, and his thoughts so many, he couldn’t hold on to one for very long before it slipped away.

The elevator dinged. Pushing himself from the wall, Koushi stepped forward. The doors opened. He went to walk in but stopped upon noticing movements and bodies.

“Suga.”

Koushi’s gaze snapped back to attention. Warm eyes watched him, a small smile greeted him, and Koushi wanted nothing more than to keep walking. He was too tired, he couldn’t put up with any of this, not now.

He took another step back to let Captain Sawamura and the other officers exit the elevator. The Captain smiled again and stopped in front of him while the other three men started off down the hall. “I was sure we’d miss you. How was the session? I hope you’re feeling better.”

_Truth comes in small packages,_ Dr. Bokuto had said. Koushi forced a smiled. “I’m fine and the session… it was okay.” _Just let me go home._

The captain smiled again and had Koushi had enough energy he might have admitted to himself that it was a nice smile, welcoming and comforting. “Good, that’s good. So are you-”

Captain Sawamura was never able to finish that thought because that second another voice drifted down the hall. “Oi, Daichi! Get over here. Oikawa want’s to talk.”

“I should go,” the captain said after a pause, and Koushi couldn’t agree more as he watched the elevator close. “Have a good evening.”

“You too,” Koushi responded softly. The captain gave him one last smile before turning and heading down the hall. When Koushi was alone he walked forward and hit the down button again. The elevator lit up and the doors slid open instantly. Koushi entered and pressed the door-closed button before indicating to the machine that he would like to go down the lobby.

The elevator rattled into action and Koushi leaned back against the bars, resting his head on the cool mirrored surface. He closed his eyes and refused to open them. He looked like shit that much was clear; there was no need to confirm it.

_Talk again_ , he thought, _that damn lawyer wants to talk again._ Koushi should’ve figured it would happen sooner rather than later. That man was still out there. Koushi let out a breath. He would think about it, just not now. He couldn’t.

The elevator shuddered to a stop and paused for a moment before the doors opened. Koushi exited and nodded to the woman behind the desk. She smiled at him as she wished him a good evening, and once again Koushi decided that he had seen way too much of this place and needed to end this. But how? By becoming a witness? By admitting that he’d been-

Rosa pulled up not a second later and Koushi crossed the sidewalk and opened the door with new determination. He flopped into the car with a huff.

“How was it?” Rosa asked. There was something in her voice, something that didn’t sound right and he would have said something but he couldn’t connect the pieces enough to figure out what to say.

He went to respond then paused again. _Start with the small truths,_ Dr. Bokuto’s words ran in his ear again, _then build up to larger ones._ “It was… interesting. I’m very tired, though.”

If Rosa noticed the red around his eyes or the tear streaks on his cheeks, she didn’t say anything, only nodded and gently applied pressure to the gas to get the car rolling forward. Koushi leaned back in his seat and watched the cars ahead as they merged and turned and stopped and started again.

“Tesoro…” Koushi turned to look at Rosa. She was chewing at her lip and her hands gripped the wheel.

“Yeah? Va… um… va totto bene?”

“Va _tutto_ bene,” Rosa corrected lightly. “Sì, sì. Uhm… I’ll finish putting everything away, so just go upstairs and rest. You need it.”

Most days, Koushi would have complained and pushed and prodded, and Rosa would still have gotten her way but she would have had to work for it. Today, all he could do was hum in response. He couldn’t bring it in him to argue, his mind was too full. Small truths and then open up the big truth but… how? What small truths could he even open with before telling her that everything was a lie. That _he_ was a lie.

Why did I even talk with him? Koushi sighed and leaned back again, this time letting his eyes flutter closed. He wanted to go home and rest. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to not think. He’d done too much thinking already.

They pulled up in the side parking lot sooner than Koushi thought. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, hiding a yawn behind his hand as he stepped out of the car. He trailed Rosa into the restaurant. She was silent, which was strange, but he was thankful for it. He let his feet carry him to the employees only door off to the side and stopped. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

Rosa nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned around to face him. “No, no. Go to bed, Tesoro, there isn’t much to be done here anyway.”

Koushi frowned. She was so quiet, but maybe, perhaps, she sensed that he needed space. She was always good at reading him, especially when he didn’t want her to be. “Okay, let me know if you need anything.”

She hummed and turned around. “I’ll be up soon to heat up some dinner.”

With that, Rosa vanished into the kitchen and Koushi started up the stairs. He opened the door, trudged through the living room, turned down the hall, and pushed open the door to his room. Kicking off his shoes, Koushi looked up and stopped. The window just beside the foot of his bed was completely open, letting in hot city air. Crossing the room, he closed it and looked around.

The rest of his room was still, not a photo out of place. With a sigh, he flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes. Sure, it was only seven o’clock, but it wasn’t like he was going to sleep anyway. His mind was too messy, too full of thoughts for Koushi to even properly relax.

If only his mind was as clean as his room.  

 

* * *

  

“What do you want, Tooru?” Daichi asked as he rounded the corner and marched down the hall.

The lawyer smirked. “Oh? I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?”

Daichi just glared.

“Let’s go have a chat in your office.” Tooru smiled, turned, and started towards the door. With a huff, Daichi followed.

They slipped inside, and Daichi sat behind his desk once more while Tooru stood at the window fidgeting with the chain that would close the blinds. Daichi sighed. “Twist left Tooru.” The lawyer did and the blinds fell shut, hiding them from the main office. “For such an intelligent attorney you can be rather dumb. How many times have I told you that you have to twist left?”

Tooru plopped himself in his usual seat, feet up on Daichi's table, and a hand thrown over his heart as a pleased but surprised look passed over his face. “You think I’m intelligent?”

“What did you want to talk about, Tooru?” Daichi asked, turning his attention to his laptop.

“I know we spoke about keeping Koushi Sugawara a secret until the case is resolved, but that seems to be taking a while. I was wondering if we should contact the person who reported Mr. Sugawara missing.”

Daichi’s fingers hovered over his keyboard for a second before settling but not moving. He’d been so focused on the case and everything else that was happening around him, he hadn’t thought about who had originally reported Suga missing. Eight years was a long time to wait, especially considering that after seven the missing party was considered legally dead unless evidence arose that proved otherwise. Well, they had evidence: the living breathing Koushi Sugawara lived two streets over and five blocks down.

“I haven’t even considered contacting anyone,” Daichi admitted. “I thought you wanted to keep his identity a secret?”

When Daichi looked up he was met with a smile. “You remember Mr. Keiji Akaashi, right?”

Blinking Daichi pushed his laptop closed again, it appeared work would have to be set aside until later. “Who?”

“Mr. Sugawara’s family wasn’t the one to report him missing, Keiji Akaashi did.” With a flourish, Tooru pulled out a picture and set it on the coffee table. Daichi leaned over his desk slightly to look at it. Dark hair and heavy-lidded, seemingly uninterested eyes blinked back at him. The man had pale skin and neat black hair that swept to the side. He was nearly as pretty as Tooru was, though in a colder, less flourished way.

“Detective Keiji Akaashi. Twenty-seven years old. Works for the San Diego Police Department, and is a graduate of the University of San Diego. That’s all we know right now, I told Kei to make a full report as soon as he could, though with Mr. Akaashi here being a police officer I don’t know how much information we’ll be able to find. Some things are bound to be on public record, other are probably kept private. We’ll have to see.”

Daichi nodded and sat back in his chair. Now he could recall the name, and it was nice to finally have a face to put to it. “I remember him. Did anyone else file any other reports?”

Tooru shook his head. “I had Kei check again but we couldn’t find anything. For all that we can tell his family is… well… off of the grid, so I haven’t really bothered to request anything about them. If they didn’t file a report about their own son...”

“Why do you bring Mr. Akaashi up?” Daichi asked, and Tooru looked thankful for the change of topic. None of this was random. Tooru never went looking to bring in more people without reason. There was always a method behind what the lawyer did.

Tooru smiled. “I think it’s time for our long-lost-witness and our pretty detective to have a reunion. What do you say?”

 

* * *

 

_San Diego, CA_

Keiji Akaashi was exhausted. When he graduated from high school almost ten years ago he had promised himself that he would never return, not for reunions, no for speeches, not if he became a professor. He was done with the drama, the assholes, and the work. Of course, that promise was based on the grounds that he would go into forensics and would never have reason to return. He never considered that certain events in his life would cause him to change career paths.

In the decade that he had been out of high school not much changed about the institution or the people. There were still jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, cliques, shit bathrooms, and dumb “traditions.” On top of all of that, there were also drug dealers and drug rings. Those aspects were new to Keiji. He was sure such things had been around when he had been in school, he just had never been part of that crowd. In fact, he had never been part of any crowd in high school or in college. He’d always had a knack for blending in a vanishing among crowds. Blending in and not drawing attention to himself had been his tools for surviving high school. Now they were tools he used as he moved through the crowds that hung around the sides of the bland school building.

"Hey, Tyler!"

Keiji turned around as if the name was his own. A group of boys walked towards him and Keiji acknowledged them with a bored glance. "Yes?"

The leader of the group, Michael or Mitchell, Keiji could never remember, walked over and slapped him on the back. "Caitlyn's parents are gone for the weekend, so she's gonna have a party. I was told to invite you."

_Caitlyn... Caitlyn... She was the brunette with the red highlights._ This was the point where things got interesting. Off of school grounds, he was an officer, on school grounds, he was undercover and, for all intents and purposes, a student. After five months of searching this school up and down for the center of the drug ring, he’d found something and had enough evidence to turn the investigation over the police. All this would be over, and there would be no more tests or homework, at least not until his next job. Still, he needed authorization and possibly a warrant. Though if he was _invited_ into the house and shown the drugs _voluntarily_...

"My dad's back in town this weekend," the words slipped from Keiji's lips after a second passed, "but I'll try and get away."

Mitchell or Michael, or whatever his name was, frowned. "Whatever man, just text me. It’d be cool to see you there."

Keiji nodded, turned, and walked away.

The party went on without a hitch. Keiji didn’t even need to walk into the house to have probable cause to search the place, not with the amount of boozed up kids hanging out on the front porch. Overall, they'd made five arrests for possession with the intent to sell, twelve arrests for consumption of illegal substances, and twenty-nine arrests for underage drinking. Even with all this, Keiji was only cursed at three times and spat at once. A good night, and to top it off he was now free from his second year as high school senior, and just before midterms too.

He plopped down in his office chair for the first time in months and let out a long breath. He never thought that he'd miss the gray building where his office was located, but it was considerably more comfortable than any school classroom. His desk was piled with papers, reports, and statements that he needed to write or sort, but he allowed himself a moment to glance around the small room and sink deeper into his chair.

There was a light knock on the door and Keiji straightened up. "Come in?" He called.

The door opened and Yukie Shirofuku slipped in, closing the door behind herself carefully.

Keiji found his way to his feet, suddenly alert. "Captain? What is the problem?"

"Sit down, please."

Keiji did what he was told but remained at the edge of his chair. "Yes, ma'am?" The young detective asked his voice flat and monotone in a way that didn't represent the twisting in his chest or the thoughts that were circling his mind. He couldn't think of anything that he'd done wrong. He had followed protocol and had worked within every line of the law. In fact, Captain Shirofuku had complimented him on his work.

"I received a phone call yesterday evening from the LAPD regarding a person of interest."

Keiji's usually dull expression shifted slightly, one eyebrow raised and a small wrinkle between his brows. He pulled his lips in a straight line as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. The LAPD?

None of his family lived in Los Angeles or on the west coast. He couldn't think of anyone off the top of his head that he knew lived in or around L.A. The last time he had been up there was during a weekend, and it was only to visit the Getty and the Holocaust Museums. "I’m sorry Captain. I don’t know what you are referring too.”

"Do you know a man by the name of Koushi Sugawara?"

Keiji fell still. He hadn't heard that name from anyone since he graduated from college. Koushi Sugawara: his classmate, best friend, and, for a short year, his roommate. Koushi Sugawara: the boy who went to a club one night on a date and never returned. Koushi Sugawara: the person only Keiji Akaashi seemed to remember.

"I _knew_ someone of that name,” he responded, his voice distant as thoughts swirled his head. Koushi had been missing for eight years and, for all anyone seemed to care, was dead. At least in the eyes of the law. At least until there was some proof that he was still out there.

"Well," the captain took a breath and gave Keiji a soft look he'd only see his boss wear around her two-year-old son. It was a careful look, a tender look, and it caused Keiji to bristle. “The LAPD has found someone they identified as Koushi Sugawara and since you were the one who reported him missing, they asked to speak to you. They’re interested in seeing if you would go up to L.A. I figured you needed some time to think."

Keiji blinked. His friend – he would argue best friend, at least his past best friend – was alive. Alive and in L.A., just three hours north, and maybe, just maybe, he’d been there the past eight years. L.A. was a city with a population of around three million people so it was no wonder he’d been hidden for so long. What was he been doing there? How had he gotten there to begin with? A sick sort of clenching rocked his body, and Keiji gripped the armrests of the chair hoping that grounding himself would settle the spinning in his head.

"I know this is sudden, and you don't have to do anything just yet. They said they could wait-"

Keiji had waited enough. He rose from behind his desk and crossed the room. "What's faster - flying or driving?" He asked, all too aware of how shaky his voice and movements were as he pulled on his jacket.

"I can have Randy book a flight for you for tomorrow."

"Yes..." Keiji took a breath, suddenly conscious of the energy and emotion behind his words. He steadied himself before speaking again. "Yes, that would be nice. Tell the LAPD I said thank you, and that I will be there as soon as I can."

Captain Shirofuku rose as Keiji passed her chair and headed for the door. The woman gripped Keiji's shoulder and smiled. "Go home and get packed. Leave the paperwork for us. Just get your statement in by Friday, okay?"

Keiji never smiled at work. When he did it was in private or when he thought no one was looking. But he looked his captain in the eyes and smiled, wide.

Captain Shirofuku chuckled. "Take care of yourself, Keiji. I expect to see my newest undercover officer back in one piece as soon as possible."

"Yes. I will. Thank you.” Keiji opened the door and stepped out into the dimly lit hall. He stopped and looked back at the captain once more. “Thank you."


	13. Investigation - Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The alternate title for this chapter is "In Which Tooru's Plan Backfires... Again."   
> Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> TW: panic attack

_ Saturday, May 27, 2016 _

_ 9:23 am _

Saturday morning was quiet. It was quiet when Koushi woke up, exhausted from another night of terrors and haunting dreams. It was quiet when he dragged himself out of his room and Rosa greeted him with only a small smile. Even the old coffee machine that sounded on the verge of death was quiet, it’s rumbling barely filling the empty air of the kitchen.

Nearly three hours later and the quiet still hung between everyone as they readied themselves for the inevitable lunch rush. Koushi moved around the kitchen with soft whispers. Even Shouyou seemed subdued. His smile was still bright, but his laughter was muffled and he spoke only when spoken to, something Koushi had never seen the younger man do. Rosa was the worst offender. She tiptoed around everyone – especially Koushi – as though she was trying to slip by unnoticed. When Koushi did manage to catch her gaze she seemed on the verge of apology before she turned and went to help someone else on the other end of the kitchen.

Koushi was setting up bags of bread for the assembly line when a light hand came to rest on his arm. He glanced over his shoulder to find Rosa watching him with steady, familiar eyes.

“Help me bring out the pasta from the freezer.” It wasn’t a request.

He followed her around the counters to the large freezer tucked off into the corner. Koushi pulled open the heavy door, holding it so Rosa could slip inside, and waited in the doorway. She passed him a few bags, careful to pile them so that he could see, and when he couldn’t carry any more Koushi turned out of the freezer. He crossed back across the kitchen, placing the bags by the pasta prep station, before returning to the freezer to pick up a few more bags, this time vegetables.

The third round, Rosa stopped midway and placed what she had in her hands on the floor with a sigh. Koushi frowned and set his own boxes down, questions heavy on his tongue. 

“The police captain and some of the officers stopped by yesterday while you were at your… session,” she said after a few moments of silence.

“Why?” Koushi asked

Rosa let out a breath. “Someone broke into the apartment yesterday when Shouyou and I were downstairs.”

“What? But nothing was missing? Your computer was there, my computer was there, the tv…” Koushi tried to think it through, moving room to room and picturing what it looked like just this morning. “I didn’t notice anything gone.”

“That’s because they didn’t take anything.” Rosa looked down at the boxes they had just been holding and Koushi frowned.

“But you just said-”

“Someone did break in and they… they left a note and a flower.”

Koushi blinked and looked at the woman again, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “A note and a… what?” Robbers were supposed to take things not leave things. They were supposed to  _ rob _ you. This wasn’t some backward Christmas tale.

“A lily,” Rosa added quietly. “They left a note and a lily. I never read it but… the police said the note was threatening and took it with them when they left.”

Koushi’s blood ran cold, and it wasn’t from the freezer air around them. In fact, he barely registered the temperature as his stomach fell like a brick, plummeting to the floor and his chest contracted. “Y-you were threatened. By who?”

“I wasn’t threatened.  _ You _ were.” Koushi opened his mouth but Rosa shook her head and continued. “They broke in through the window that overlooked the alley and left the note and the flower on your bed. I don’t know what it means, I don’t understand what happened but… Sono spaventato.” She finally looked at him, her dark eyes wide, her brow wrinkled in a way he’d only ever seen when he first arrived, and she had watched him like he’d disappear if she didn’t

Koushi let out a breath, ignoring the pounding of his own heart. “You don’t have to be scared. I-I’m fine. I’m here aren’t I?”

“But what if you had been in the room when they’d come in? What if you had been hurt?”

“But I wasn’t.”

“Still.” After a brief pause, Rosa moved forward and wrapped her arms around his middle, pulling him close and squeezing him as though he had no bones in his body. “Non voglio vederti ferita. Promettimi che sarai a posto?”

Forcing a smile, Koushi nodded. “Sì, sì. I’m fine. I will be fine. The police will take care of it. You said it yourself, one more day and they’ll find the guy.”

“Certo,” she mumbled. She pulled away, gave his arms one last squeeze, then picked up the boxes she had placed down, and Koushi did the same. They slipped out of the freezer, relishing in the warmth of the kitchen for a second before heading to the second prep line.

“I’m sorry for keeping the note and the flower from you,” Rosa said, placing her boxes on the counter. “I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you yesterday. You… you looked so tired, Tesoro. I couldn’t add to that, please understand.” 

It was like someone had squeezed all the air out of him and then pulled the floor out from under his feet. The room spun, his heart pounded, and all Koushi could do was stare at Rosa and try not to let any of it show on his face. If she felt bad for hiding something for one day, how was Koushi supposed to feel? He smiled, or attempted to, and said, “it’s f-fine. I understand.” But his voice was much too small and much too weak and shaky, and his words ended up being drowned out by the sounds around them.

Rosa must have heard him say something because she smiled and pulled him into another hug. “Tesoro, grazie. Ti amo.”

It took most of Koushi’s will not to break down or throw up right then and there. Instead, he lifted his arms and wrapped them around the small woman, praying that she didn’t feel him shaking.

 

 

That afternoon, Koushi slipped out the side door and tiptoed up the stairs to the apartment, though Rosa probably would have let him go if he had just asked. He paused at the door and pressed his ear to it. Silence echoed from the other end. When he was convinced that no one was there waiting for him. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, surveying the sitting room that melted into the living room and looked into the kitchen.

He crossed to the hallway and turned right to his room. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The shelf was untouched, still organized by authors. The desk was neat, the books for his class lay open to the last section he read, and his window was closed. Koushi walked to the edge of his bed, eyes falling on the folded covers, tucked and padded. They’d found the note and the flower on his bed. Koushi looked around eyes falling on the cork board covered with pictures from the past five years. Someone had seen all this, had walked around in his room. His space.

He blinked and for a second he was transported back to that cluttered little apartment, walls moldy, scaffolding peeling, drapes ripped and stained. He blinked and he was back in his warm, light blue bedroom, fully furnished, decorated. His. All his. Koushi couldn’t help but wonder if the five others who shared that crappy apartment with Yui and him were still there. Perhaps they were dead. Maybe that was better.

Koushi let out a breath and looked out the window and across the alley to the brick wall that made up his view. Something on his window caught his eye and he looked down to the windowsill. Lying peaceful two stories above the alley was a single lily, unfurled petals fluttering with a warm breeze Koushi couldn’t feel. He stepped away from the window, mouth dry and heart in his throat, and turned to his desk. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised anymore. He should have expected this, especially after everything.

He grabbed his phone, the thing he came up to get, and dialed with shaking fingers using the number off of the card still sitting peacefully on his desk. He held it up to his ears and turned to the window, staring at the flower.

It rang. Then rang again, and again, and again, and-

“Hello. Tooru Oikawa, how can I be of service?” A warm, bright voice spread through his ear and caused his stomach to twist. He tried not to think about the last time he heard this voice.

Koushi took two deep breaths then said, “Hi M-Mr. Oikawa it’s Suga… It’s Koushi, Koushi Sugawara. I was hoping that we could meet. I… I think there’s more you should know.”

 

 

When the lady behind the reception desk greeted him with a smile, a small one but a smile nonetheless, and he gave her a shaky smile in return, Koushi remembered once again that he spent way too much time in this building and he needed to end this, now. He wasn’t quite sure why he was back or meeting with the lawyer here at police headquarters. Though he had agreed to give an updated statement, so perhaps that was part of it.

The elevator opened and he stepped inside, pressed the button, and waited as he was closed in. Once alone, Koushi let out a long sigh and leaned against the handle along the wall.  _ I’m doing this for Rosa. _ It was the only thought that kept him moving forward and didn’t allow him to turn around when he walked out of the restaurant or was waiting for a traffic light to change _. _

_ I’m doing this for Rosa _ . He let out another breath. It was the only reason he was here.

If he had been the only one threatened he wouldn’t have even considered turning to a lawyer, much less the police, for help. He would have packed himself up and slipped away. If he’d been alone he might have actually left this hellhole of a city, with its dirty air and dirty memories. He could go to Oregon or Arizona or all the way to the East Coast, anywhere that wasn’t California.

But he wasn’t alone. There was Rosa, and Shouyou, and Asahi, and the restaurant, and the rest of the staff, and all these people he was tied to. He couldn’t let them down, not again. If the White Lilies were really looking for him and that put Rosa and everyone else at risk, Koushi was going to put an end to it. Two people had already lost their lives because he had been too scared to step forward. He wasn’t going to let anyone else make that kind of sacrifice. Not for his sake.

He knew what people would think once he finally spoke, knew what they would say, how they’d look at him. The officers especially. Prostitution was illegal; even if it wasn’t your choice, it was still against the law. And hiding information from the police? Koushi would cross that barrier when it came time to do so. He didn’t want to think about it too much.

The elevator ding meant that he didn’t have to either. He pushed himself from the wall, straightened his shirt in the mirror – a light blue button down because he still wanted to look nice – and rolled back his shoulders as the elevator door opened. He stepped out into the hall. It was quiet today, soft voices bubbling up from around the corner along with the sounds of typing and footsteps. It sounded like they were actually working. Koushi wasn’t sure if that calmed him or added to the anxiety that bubbled in his chest.

There weren’t many people in, but the ones who were at their desks looked worn. Koushi took a few more steps and looked across the room. There was no sign of Tooru. He glanced towards the windows that peered into Daichi’s office, but the blinds were closed. Only Lieutenant Ennoshita lifted his gaze to Koushi after a few seconds. “Can we help… oh! Mr. Sugawara… you’re early.”

Koushi followed the lieutenant’s gaze to the lone clock that overlooked the room. “I am,” he said, just as surprised as the officer sounded. He hadn’t expected to be early and yet here he was.  _ The faster this is over the faster you can leave, _ Koushi reminded himself. “Is Mr. Oikawa here yet or…?”

“He’s in the captain’s office,” Lieutenant Ennoshita said, standing suddenly. “I’ll go talk to him. Please have a seat in any of the chairs along the wall.”

Koushi turned and did as he had been instructed. He sat in the one closest to the hallway that led to the conference room, he figured they would be there again. The officer moved around the desk, whispered something in Lieutenant Iwaizumi’s ear, and then walked back across to the door. Lieutenant Ennoshita went to knock but ended up jumping back as the door opened up.

Tooru stepped out, looking over his shoulder with a small smile. “I’ll go grab some water then we can meet in-” the lawyer stopped, eyes trained on Koushi. There was a moment of silence where the air went still and the only noise was the faint clicking of keys as someone typed. Tooru had a wide-eyed look, an expression more open and surprised than any Koushi had seen on the lawyer’s face.

A second later, Tooru was smiling again as if everything was right in the world. “Mr. Sugawara, you’re,” Tooru looked to the clock, “early.”

Koushi rose. “I know. I hope this isn’t a problem.”

Tooru flashed another smile. Even from across the room Koushi could tell that while it reached his eyes, there was something buried beneath it. “It’s not a problem. I actually have someone you should… greet.” Tooru turned to look into the office once more. “Koushi Sugawara,” Koushi tried not to flinch at the sound of his name, his  _ real _ name, “Keiji Akaashi. I believe you two know each other.”

Tooru stepped aside and another figure stepped through the door. A young man appeared with dark hair and heavy lidded eyes, which were now wide and watching Koushi as though he was a ghost. Koushi’s heart stopped and something in his chest twisted. He couldn’t breathe. He had the sudden urge to turn and run, but he was frozen in time.

Keiji blinked. “You... you’re actually…” His words, soft and breathless, stumbled then stopped altogether. When Keiji took a step forward, Koushi took a step back, right into the chair, and Keiji fell still.

Looking between them and the rest of the group, Tooru patted Keiji on the back before walking past him and down the hallway. “Let’s continue this in the conference room, shall we?”

Koushi was suddenly aware of the eyes on him. Lieutenant Ennoshita hovered by the door, just over Tooru’s left shoulder. Iwaizumi was watching them from his computer and looked between everyone, though his eyes lingered on Tooru the longest. And though he couldn’t see him, Koushi was suddenly aware that Captain Sawamura was probably watching from inside his office.

A hand gripped his arm. Koushi didn’t flinch or pull away, he let himself be walked to the conference room, the same one as before. He was pulled inside and sent towards the table, where he plopped himself down in the nearest chair. Keiji entered a moment later but remained by the door, eyes darting between Tooru and Koushi.

The lawyer cleared his throat. “I’m going to give you some time. If you need me I’ll be in Captain Sawamura’s office,” Tooru said with a nod before crossing back to the windows that looked into the hallway. After an awkward second of fidgeting with the string, he pulled the blinds shut then slipped out the door. It closed with a soft click, the only sound that echoed through the room.

In the corner of his eye, Koushi was aware of Keiji. The younger man shifted his weight from one foot and then the other. He was tense. Koushi could feel the nerves rolling off of the younger man in waves and was suddenly glad he wasn’t the only one feeling like the world had just been spun out from under him. The feeling only worsened once Keiji pushed himself from the wall and crossed to the other side of the table. He pulled the chair out and sat down silently, never taking his eyes off of Koushi.

Koushi did the best he could to ignore the man across from him, choosing instead to pick and his stubby nails. He pulled at the skin around them and picked at any loose hanging pieces, using the dull pain to distract himself from the sickness that spread through his gut and the tightness that constricted his chest. When the man across from him shifted in his seat, Koushi flinched then stared down at the table in shame. Every fiber of his being was telling him to stand up and leave. This wasn’t what he came for. He didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to sit here. He was supposed to be talking with Tooru. He was supposed to be making things better.

“You’re alive.” The soft words caused Koushi to look up. Keiji didn’t look a day out of college: dark hair swept to the side, soft features that made him look younger, heavy-lidded eyes. But his normally impassive expression was gone and replaced with a look that held so much desperation it made Koushi cringe.

“You’re alive,” Keiji said again, his voice stronger, his gaze sharper.

Koushi pulled his hand apart and lifted one of them to tug at the collar of his shirt as if doing that would make it easier to breathe. “I-I am,” he said. He began to pick at his nails again.

Keiji blinked a few times. “You are.”

Silenced washed over the room again just as a tremor made its way up from Koushi’s toes progressing through his chest then out to his hands. The faint ticking of a clock was the only sound to be heard over the occasional rumble of a car and the pounding of his own heart. If Keiji could hear it from where he was sitting he had no reaction. Koushi let his short nails run up and down his arms, scratching at an itch that lay deep beneath his skin.

He looked up and met the young man’s gaze again. Keiji sat perfectly still, eyes still wide and dark, and his expression unreadable, which only made Koushi shake more. If his legs weren’t shaking so badly and he wasn’t so light headed Koushi would have stood up and walked out of the room. But he was glued to his chair, heart pounding, chest tight, and mind buzzing with a million thoughts. And yet, nothing came to mind. One thought would flood in only to be replaced by two or three or twelve. His arms itched again and he let his fingers run down them.

“W-why are you here?” Koushi asked when he could no longer stand the silence.

“I came to see you.” Koushi frowned and after a second. Keiji shifted in his seat, took a breath, and continued. “I got a call from the LAPD informing me that they had found you and I came.”

Koushi frowned and twisted his fingers, pulling at his nails again. “But… why would you-?”

“You’ve been gone of eight years, why wouldn’t I come!” As soon as the words were out Keiji fell silent again, his lips coming together to form a thin line. He stared down at the table. While the rest of his expression remained passive, Koushi could just make out a spiral of emotions dancing in his eyes. It had been the same in college: impassive expressions but emotive eyes.

Koushi sat back in the chair. “Eight years…” he mumbled. It really had been eight years, hadn’t it? The past five years with Rosa had felt like another lifetime and the two and half before that seemed like a distant nightmare until he remembered the brand on his chest and the hands that roamed his body. Koushi curled in on himself.

“What happened?” Keiji asked, his voice quiet, but his eyes gave himself away, as they always did. “Where have you been?”

Letting out a small breath, Koushi barely looked up “I’ve been here,” he answered.

“For the last eight years?”

Keiji’s lips remained thin, but his eyes were wide, sorry, struggling to read him and understand. Koushi pulled his legs up onto his chair and rested his chin on his knees. His eyes returned to looking at the table. “Yes.”

He could feel Keiji’s eyes, always careful but always sharp. He’d always been one of the people who could read Koushi when others couldn’t. Eight years ago it had brought a sort of comfort, made him feel like he had a place to go and a person to turn to. Now it felt like he had no place to hide. His mind had been a safe for good and bad thoughts. Now he didn’t know what to do, not when Keiji had the key.

“Is it true that you’ve been living above a restaurant.”

Koushi’s eyes shot up and his blood ran cold. “How much did Mr. Oikawa tell you?”

“Not a lot,” Keiji responded, “just that you’re alive and have been living and working at a restaurant just down the street for the last… few years?”

“Last five years,” Koushi corrected softly.

“Five years.” Keiji didn’t raise his voice, he wouldn’t, not after doing it once, but the pain and surprise were clear in the hitch of his tone and the shine of his eyes. “You’ve lived in L.A. for five years.”

Koushi swallowed. “Seven… almost eight.”

The corners of Keiji’s mouth twisted down, but the rest of his expression remained flat. “You’ve been here eight years, and you didn’t once think of coming back down to San Diego?”

_ He missed me. _ The thought hit Koushi suddenly.  _ Keiji missed me. _ It was a strange thought, one he had never expected. But looking at the man across from him, it became clear. Keiji’s expression was flat, his words lacking emotion, but his eyes were dark, swirling with anger and sadness and confusion. The tightness in Koushi’s chest moved up to his throat, and his mouth dried as he chewed his bottom lip.

Keiji continued watching him with a steady gaze and Koushi swallowed back whatever thickness he could. “I… I couldn’t.” The words sounded weak, even to himself but what else could he say? “I’m sorry. I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t get on a bus or a train?” Keiji repeated. Koushi looked at his hands, nails bloodied once again. “So many people wondered where you went – Taka, Morisuke. We were worried about you when you didn’t come back to school that Monday. Then a week passed, then a month, then three years, then five. We thought you were dead, Koushi.”

Pulling his legs closer to his chest, Koushi struggled for a breath. “I-I-I’m sorry.”

“You could have done anything, even if you didn’t come back. You could have called.”

“No. I couldn’t have.”

“Why not?” Raising his voice slightly was the second closest thing Keiji got to yelling. He wanted to yell, Koushi realized upon lifting his head and meeting the other man’s gaze. But he held it in, as he did with everything else. “Why couldn’t you have called?”

Koushi shook his head, looking down at his open palms. “You wouldn’t get it. I-I couldn’t. I can’t.”

Something in Keiji’s expression shifted. “You said you’ve only been living down the street for the last five years. What about the other three.”

Hands ghosted up his arms as he pulled them into his body. He shut his eyes, blocking out what senses he could. The words were there. He had told Dr. Bokuto a few days ago. The words had to be there. He opened his mouth just as his throat closed in on itself. “I… I’m sorry.” His voice cracked.

“Koushi, what happened?” The flatness in Keiji’s voice shifted and softened.

“I can’t.”

“Where were you for those three-”

“I can’t!” The tightness in his chest snapped and his body tensed. Koushi curled in around his knees, hands gripping his head, covering his ears as if that would block out the sounds and the smells. As if curling in a ball would block out the world and the memories that came with it. “I can’t… I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I j-just can’t.”

“Koushi?”

He could sense the movement more than he could see it, and flinched away from the pressure, chest constricting. “No. No. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He sobbed.

Keiji stood up, Koushi could just make out the squeaking of a chair wheel and the clip of footsteps over his own blubbering. “Koushi, I’m going to go get DDA Oikawa, okay?”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

The door opened and Koushi curled up more, shielding himself away from whatever was out in the hallway.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I can’t. I can’t do it.”

The footsteps paused for a moment. “I’m sorry too.”

 

* * *

 

_ Sunday, May 28, 2016 _

_ 12:42 am _

“Chikara is taking Officer Keiji out to lunch, would you like me to ask him to pick anything up for you?” Daichi asked, stepping into his office and closing the door behind him.

Tooru was right where Daichi had left him, at the edge of his usual chair, staring down at the folder that held everything they currently knew about Koushi Sugawara. He gave no indication that he’d even heard Daichi. Daichi took that to mean they’d be getting lunch later or not at all.

With a huff, he set himself down in the chair beside Tooru. “We can always question him later.”

“I shouldn’t have insisted he speak with Keiji Akaashi,” Tooru said after letting out a long breath, his eyes never leaving the papers.

Daichi frowned. “None of us could have predicted how Suga was going to act.”

“He’s responded poorly before, it was only logical that he’d respond negatively again.”

Daichi sat back in the seat, studying the lawyer to his right. Tooru’s face was impassive. He wore the same expression as Officer Akaashi, before Suga arrived: tight lips, focused eyes, stone face. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he stared at the pages. But Daichi could guess.

“Go get some lunch,” Daichi said after a minute of silence. He stood up and crossed around the chairs, stopping behind Tooru. The lawyer didn’t look up. “Tooru, get up.” Nothing. “Tooru. Tooru Oikawa!”

“Yes?” The attorney looked up and glanced over his shoulder.

“Go get lunch. Go eat. You’ve been here all morning.”

“Few more minutes.” Tooru waved his hand for Daichi to quiet down. “I’m thinking.”

“No, you’re not.” Daichi moved back around the chair and swept the papers and folder off of the table. He snatched them shut and held them out of reach. Before Tooru could react or spring to his feet Daichi said, “I’ll get Hajime if I have to.” Tooru plopped back in the chair, glaring all the while. “Go get some food then go home. It’s Sunday, we shouldn’t have dragged you here in the first place. One of us can talk to Suga later.”

“That’s not going to do anything,” Tooru said while pushing himself up. “He’s not going to say anything, especially now. He doesn’t need to talk. He needs help.”

“We can do that. There’s you, me, the rest of the team. We can help him.”

“No, we can’t.” Daichi’s grip tightened around the files. Tooru sighed and draped an elbow over the back of the chair. “He needs  _ professional _ help, Daichi. Surely you’ve noticed it too: the fear, the anxiety, the mental breakdowns or panic attacks or whatever you want to call them. We can’t do anything about that. You’re a police officer and I’m an attorney, we aren’t trained to deal with… all that.”

For a second, Daichi thought that Tooru sounded almost annoyed, almost exasperated. But after meeting his gaze for a second, Daichi realized the lawyer was upset. Tooru was as powerless as Daichi was in this situation, and just as confused. Yes both of them had interacted multitudes of different people, but Tooru was right, they weren’t Koutarou Bokuto, they weren’t psychiatrists. As much as both of them wanted to, they couldn't help Koushi Sugawara.

“Then what can we do?” Daichi asked.

“We can try to put as little pressure on him as possible,” Tooru replied after a short pause. “It’s been a week and we don’t have a suspect. We need one soon. The press is getting antsy, and nothing good’s going to come out of this by extending this case any longer.”

“Well, we have a person of interest. The DNA found in-”

“And nothing to tie him to the murder!”

“We could still bring him in for breaking and entering.”

“And then what?” Tooru asked Daichi. “Nothing. We have nothing unless he magically has a gun on him and we can somehow get it. He could talk his way out of this in a second.”

“We need more physical evidence.”

Tooru stood up straight and snorted. Shaking his head as he crossed the office, Tooru stopped and looked back at Daichi. “No, Captain. We need a miracle.”


	14. Investigation - Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind words. I hope you enjoy this chapter!!
> 
> TW: strong, threatening language, death mentioned

_Monday, May 29, 2016_

_7:14 am_

Rosa was awake and down the stairs, coffee in hand, earlier than usual. Normally at this hour, it was Suga who was setting up the chairs and cleaning the counter, but he was asleep. She had peered into his room when he hadn’t been in the kitchen. She had found him peacefully curled under the sheets that had remained on his bed. She didn’t have the heart to wake him up. Asleep he was relaxed. Asleep it seemed that none of his hidden fears could reach him. So she had his door, made her coffee as silently as possible, and slipped down the stairs.

She moved around the restaurant, pulling chairs off of tables and giving them one last wipe down. Once that was done, she pulled out clean tablecloths and draped them, one by one, over the tables. She crossed in front of the door and stopped when something caught the corner of her eye. She looked down towards the door and saw a little piece of paper tucked under it.

After placing the rest of the rags on the closest table, she walked to the door and pulled out a note. _Probably another advertisement of some sort,_ she thought. As she looked it over, cold fear seeped under her skin, making her hair raise and causing anxiety bubbled in her gut. The envelope was blank, except for a cursive W and a looping L. She turned the note over, her nail sliding under the flap to open it.

“Oh. Good morning, I didn’t think you were awake yet,” Suga’s voice drifted from the hallway.

“Buongiorno,” she greeted, looking down at the note. It was small enough she could hide it between her hands, and that was what she did when she turned around and gave Suga a warm smile. “Mi dispiace, non volevo svegliarti.”

She didn’t miss his small frown when he glanced down at her hands.

“Do you need any help?”

“No, ho quasi finito. Can you start prepping the vegetables, I’ll only be a few minutes.”

She watched him wander into the kitchen, before sliding the note in her pocket. She glanced towards the stairs. Would checking his room lead to anything? The twisting in her gut only grew worse at the thought. She’d never done that with her own children, why would she start now? With a sigh, she turned back to the tablecloths. The envelope in her pocket burned, but she did her best to ignore it.

 

* * *

 

_Tuesday, May 30, 2016_

_10:04 am_

“Captain, there’s someone here to speak with you,” Kei’s said through his right ear.

Daichi tried not to look too relieved as he turned to the lieutenant beside him. “I need to step out. Collect her statement, get that list, then wait in my office.” He turned his attention to the sniffling woman across from him. “Mrs. Maddock, I received another call, but Lieutenant Iwaizumi will remain with you. I am very sorry about your son.”

Before he could get caught up in another one of her long winded replies, Daichi turned and left the room. When the door shut behind him, he let out a long breath. People crying was one thing, people sobbing uncontrollably then going off on random tangents was another. Taking two deep breaths, Daichi centered himself then started down the hall.

“Who’s here to see me, Kei?”

There was a pause on the other line just as Daichi stepped out of the hall into the main office space. “Mrs. Rosalinda Verano.”

Daichi looked up to see the small woman, perched at the edge of one of the chairs, talking animatedly to Chikara. Daichi flipped the switch off on his Bluetooth as he crossed the room. “Mrs. Verano,” he greeted with a nod, he wasn’t even going to try to smile. “How can I help you?”

The woman stood up suddenly, forcing Chikara to take a step back. She opened her mouth, glanced around the room then closed it. She took another step forward and opened her purse. Daichi glanced down, unsure of what he was looking at. It took a second before he spotted the three notes shoved into the side of her bag and a mostly dead, white flower, shriveled and wrinkled between her keys and her wallet.

When Daichi looked up his eyes darted to Chikara. The younger lieutenant shook his head. Daichi turned his attention back to Mrs. Verano. “Let’s go talk in my office.”

The three of them walked in silence. Chikara lagged behind for a moment, snatching a plastic bag and two packets of gloves, before making his way back to where Daichi held open the door. Mrs. Verano sat down in one of the chairs, back straight and hands clenched around her purse. Daichi flipped on the lights and draw the blinds together so that no one could see into the room. He grabbed his chair and pulled it around to the side of his desk.

Chikara handed him a pair of gloves as Mrs. Verano opened her bag and pulled out the three notes and the dying flower. The notes were small, all the same size and all opened. Daichi picked up the nearest one and looked the outside over. On the front in the bottom right corner was a cursive W and L. He frowned and looked up.

“You handled each of these?”

“Yes.”

Chikara muffled a groan by chewing on his bottom lip and Daichi merely nodded. “We’ll need to get your fingerprint then. How long have these been in your possession?”

“The one with the ripped corner,” Mrs. Verano pointed to the one closest to Chikara, “I found yesterday. I discovered the rest in Suga’s desk this morning… along with the flower. I don’t know when he got them.”

“It couldn’t have been too long ago,” Chikara said, picking up the flower and carefully turning it over. “This can’t be more than a few days old.”

Daichi looked back to the note Rosa had pointed out and opened it carefully. He pulled out the letter and looked it over.

_Once a whore, always a whore._

Heat bubbled in Daichi’s gut and it took all his will not to rip the note. He put it back in the envelope and set that on the table. “The one that you found, where was it?” Daichi asked, his voice rough and dry. He didn’t miss the side look Chikara threw him.

“Under the front door to the restaurant,” Mrs. Verano replied.

Daichi reached and picked up the next note. He opened it and frowned at its contents, putting it away as quickly as he had with the first one. He set the note down and looked across the table where Chikara sat, reading the third and last note. He met the young man’s gaze and the lieutenant just shook his head, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he set the final note down.

“Is there anything else you can tell us about these notes?”

The woman shook her head. “I… I just want Suga to be safe. I don’t know what this person wants with him.”

“Nothing will happen to him,” Daichi said not a second later. The woman watched him, her gaze a mixture of hope and fear. “We’ll need you to bring Su-Mr. Michimiya in. If these are threatening notes, we need to find out as much about them as soon as possible.”

Mrs. Verano paused, glanced off to the side as she thought, then nodded. “He’s supposed to have this afternoon off. I’ll make sure he takes it.”

“Good. Thank you. We’ll also need to keep the notes and flower in order to send them to forensics.”

“Take them,” she said, “I don’t want those things in my house.”

“I’ll need you to go with Lieutenant Ennoshita for a few minutes, so we can get your fingerprints as well.”

Mrs. Verano threw him a small glare, but stood up without a sound and looked expectantly towards Chikara. The lieutenant stood up in haste, evidence in hand. Daichi waved it away, and Chikara set the evidence bag down, turning then to the older woman. “Follow me, this will only take a minute.”

Daichi followed them to the doorway, holding it open as they exited. “Oh, and Mrs. Verano.” The woman stopped and looked back at him. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

She nodded, her lips tight and eyes tired before she turned and trailed after Chikara. Daichi closed his door and turned back to face his office. He crossed back to his desk and picked up his cell phone. He pulled up contacts, then most recent calls, pressing the number at the top.

Tooru picked up after two rings. “I’m back in court in two minutes Daichi, this better be good.”

“Oh it is,” Daichi looked at the bag. On one hand, he wanted to smile, on the other he felt the need to scream and kick because this wasn’t fair. One person going through all of this wasn’t fair. _Suga_ going through all this wasn’t fair. “You said we needed a miracle. Well, I have it, in the form of three letters and a dead flower.”

On the other end of the line, Tooru sucked in a breath. “I’ll be there this afternoon.” Then he hung up.

 

* * *

 

_Tuesday, May 30, 2016_

_4:45 pm_

Koushi trailed behind Rosa, nodding to the receptionist who gave a small wave as they walked towards the elevators. “You didn’t have to walk with me,” he said.

Rosa gave him an appraising look. The same one she’d been giving him daily since this whole incident started over a week ago. She let out a sigh and pushed his bangs from his face. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Tesoro.”

Before he could think of an answer, the elevator chimed and the door dragged itself open. “Call me and I’ll pick you up,” Rosa continued, stepping toward the elevator with him, though when he crossed the threshold she stopped.

Koushi turned around. “That’s really not-”

“Chiamami, bene?”

He sighed. “Sì.”

The door slid shut a second later. Koushi hit the button and slumped against the wall. He stared up at the familiar tailed ceiling. Were they trying to get him to see Keiji again? Koushi sighed. He hadn’t seen the other man since his episode in the conference room three days ago. Hadn’t thought about him either or, well, actively tried not to think about him.

Eight years. He’d been gone eight years. It wasn’t long ago that Koushi was seated in class, Keiji besides him, and yet that memory seemed to come from a different life. It was a picture from a distant dream, a different reality. Koushi had been living with Rosa for only five years, not even a fifth of his life and yet the past five years had felt more real than anything before them.

Eight years was a long time to wait. The first three had been beyond his control. But the last five… his should have visited. No, he should have left L.A. He should have gone east or left the country. Rosa had taught him enough Italian in the first year and a half, he could have survived in Italy. He should have run when he’d had the chance. He should have vanished again. He should have-

The elevator chimed and the door rolled open, and Koushi found himself staring at a familiar white wall, lined with various faces, labeled with names he never bothered to read. Koushi stepped out of the elevator, leaving the should-haves in the back of his mind. _In and out,_ he thought, _and hopefully no sobbing and panicking this time._

He turned the corner and stopped when he met Captain Sawamura’s gaze. His expression must have shown his confusion because the captain walked forward, a small and warm smile over his lips like he was actually happy to see Koush again. “Mrs. Verano told me you were coming up.”

He turned and Koushi found himself walking in step with the captain. “She texted you?” He asked. Instead of turning right down the hall towards the conference rooms, they turned left.

They stopped at the first door, and Captain Sawamura took a step back to hold the door open as Koushi stepped inside. “She called.”

“Figured,” Koushi said. “She can’t text to save her life.” He stopped and glanced around the space. A mahogany desk sat closest to the far wall, a tall black chair behind it. In front of the desk were two more chairs and a little coffee table in front of them. The walls were a warm beige and the shelves along the wall filled with folders and a handful of pictures.

Koushi studied them as he sat down. He couldn’t make out many of the faces, but a lot of the people in the photos were wearing the same outfits, black with orange accents, a uniform of some type, and certainly not a police uniform. There were other photos, some of a young woman who shared the Captain Sawamura’s dark hair and tan skin. Another picture was of four people, huddled together, smiling. Koushi found himself turning away quickly to study the table.

Captain Sawamura crossed around to his desk, shuffled something around that sounded like plastic, then looked up. “I… uh… hope you’re feeling okay.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Koushi mumbled, aware of how ridged his voice sounded.

The police captain nodded.

Koushi let out a breath. “Why am I here?” He asked through the tension. There wasn’t any use in jumping around the subject

“Right.” Captain Sawamura picked up a bag filled with what looked like squares of paper and something else. A stick? He walked around the desk and placed the bag on the coffee table in front of Koushi. “Do you recognize these?”

The squares of paper were small, off-white notes. Koushi chest tightened. These were in his desk drawer, at least, they had been this morning. “How did you get these?”

“Mrs. Verano brought them in. So let me ask again, do you recognize these notes and the flower?”

Koushi looked back at the bag. He reached forward hesitantly, glancing up. The captain nodded and Koushi picked up the bag, turning it over in his hands slowly. “Y-yes, I do recognize them… why are there three notes?”

“Mrs. Verano said she found one yesterday.”

Koushi thought back to the day before. Rosa had gotten up before he had, and when he’d walked down stairs, he found her in front of the door, staring at her hands. There had been something between her palms that morning. A paper? A letter? He hadn’t been able to tell. Before he’d had a chance to ask she’d sent him away. He should’ve known, should have figured it out when he hadn’t found a note hidden somewhere that day.

Koushi set his jaw and looked directly into the officer’s eyes. “Why do you have them?”

“Like I said, Mrs. Verano brought them in,” Captain Sawamura said, his voice strong but soft around the edges. He wasn’t scolding, only explaining, and Koushi felt hot anger bubble up in his chest, but it continued to slip through his veins. “A good thing too. Do you know what they are?”

“They’re mine. You don’t need to worry about them.”

“They’re threats,” Captain Sawamura continued.

Koushi frowned. “They’re just… letters. There’s nothing threatening about them.”

Captain Sawamura huffed and looked over notepad he had grabbed off of his desk and read, “’You got yourself a gorilla pimp now.’ ‘Once and whore always a whore.’ ‘You can’t hide from us.’”

“Like I said,” Koushi muttered, shifting in his seat, trying to move remove the tension in his shoulders and soothe the burning fear deep in his gut. “Not _explicitly_ threatening.”

“All of them are from the White Lilies. They know who you are, Koushi.”

Koushi flinched. The itching under his skin started up again. He ran his blunt nails down his arm. “My name’s Suga…”

“Not according to them. They start each note with your name. How do they know you?”

Koushi let his eyes fall back to the bag of notes, ignoring the burning at his collar. He hadn’t thought anyone had recognized him that night. It had been dark, the streetlight had been dead. He hadn’t seen the attacker. Though he was sure he had recognized the voice, he couldn’t put a face to it. Maybe if he had heard it longer? Maybe if he had peered out the window at the right time? He could feel the other man’s gaze on him, though. Still, see the dark eyes.

Captain Sawamura let out a long breath. “Suga, you’re in danger and it’s not just you. As long as you are living with Mrs. Verano and working at that restaurant she and the rest of your co-workers are in danger too. I met Shouyou Hinata and Asahi Azumane. They’re nice people, both of us know they shouldn’t be in this mess.”

The captain was right. Getting Rosa involved was bad enough as it was, but the others? Shouyou still had his sister to worry about, and Asahi had worked so hard to get into med school. He couldn’t let them loose it all. He couldn’t force them to make the sacrifice Yui had made.

“We’ve also done a good job of ignoring the case from five years ago,” the captain continued, voice low and uncomfortably calm. “You witnessed Yui Michimiya’s murder. Then you ran. We have your prints and your call on record. You withheld evidence for five years. We could take legal action against you, and really we should.” Koushi expected frustration or anger as he watched the man across from him, but the police captain looked less angry and more sad than anything. “I don’t want to do that. What I want is to help you, but in order to do that, you need to talk. Please, Suga, please let me help you.”

Koushi let out a long breath. He had tried not to think about withholding evidence from the police, but that’s what he had done. It had cost another life, hadn’t it? Two deaths because of him. Two young women, gone. And there was the chance of it happening again if he didn’t do anything. Help. That’s what he needed these last fives years. That’s all anyone had ever given him. Shouyou and Asahi had helped him learn how to build relationships. They taught him how to trust again. His professors at the community college had helped him rebuild his love of learning, helped remind him that he could be normal if he tried hard enough. And Rosa. Rose had given him a job, and a house, and a family. She’d given a chance to start again and live a life separate from his past. And what had he given her? What had he given any of them?

He looked up and met the officer’s gaze. “How?”

“Let’s make a deal,” Captain Sawamura said carefully, “you answer all of my questions, and I can get you and Rosa protection.”

“A-and the restaurant?”

“Protection for the restaurant as well. But I need answers to _everything_.”

Koushi swallowed. How far did everything extend? It looked like he would have to find out. He wasn’t about to leave Rosa or Shouyou or anyone else in danger. Rubbing the spot just below his collarbone, he nodded. “Fine.”

Captain Sawamura gave him a thankful smile. It was warm, it was kind, and it was more genuine and more lovely than even the brightest smiles Tooru produced. “Do you know of the gang The White Lilies?”

Koushi didn’t let his mind focus too much on the question or the name. He simply nodded and said, “I do.”

Daichi flipped his pad to a new page. “How do you know them?”

“I was…” What had the doctor said last week? Take everything a step at a time. Take your time. Breathe, don’t focus too hard. Don’t think too hard. “ I was… _Affiliated_ with them for some time.”

“Did you know Yui Michimiya?”

“I d-did.” Koushi cursed his brain for allowing the thoughts to pop up. He could still see her body, smell the blood hanging in the night air.

“Did you know Margret Emerson?”

“Who?” Koushi sat back and frowned. “She was the girl who was shot in the alley, wasn’t she?” Captain Sawamura nodded and Koushi shook his head. “I… I didn’t know her.”

“She was tied to the White Lilies as well,” the captain explained and Koushi let out a long breath. He could have guessed that much. “Did you see who shot Margret Emerson?”

Koushi shook his head.

“Then why was the window shot out?”

“H-he saw me. I d-don’t know how he did, the patio lights died a week or two ago, but he saw me and… I guess… recognized me.” It had to have been someone who knew him, but that could have been any number of men. Koushi shivered at the thought. “I didn’t see him well. He was tall, dark haired I think… he had a gun. I don’t know… but I-I knew his voice.”

“So you might be able to identify him?”

Koushi shrugged. Maybe. He’d have to see if he could even stand listening to one of them for more than thirty seconds without vomiting.

“Do you know someone named André Kato.”

The name caused Koushi to freeze in his seat. His heart rate jumped and his chest tightened. “I-I did… I do. Yes.” He mumbled. He remembered André. He wasn’t sure if he could even picture a face, but he knew the name too well, heard it too much.

The captain continued to scribble a few things down on his note pad before looking up and giving him another smile. “Thank you, this will really help.” He pulled out his phone and looked something over. “Tooru will be here in a few minutes, then we can talk about plans for you and Mrs. Verano, okay?”

Koushi nodded. They stayed like that for a few seconds, the captain smiling at him, shifting his weight from foot to foot as if he didn’t know what to do, and Koushi glancing up at him, waiting.

“Well… um… I’m going to go talk with a few of my officers. Feel free to wait in here, or in the conference room. If you need anything don’t be afraid to ask.” Captain Sawamura said, stumbling over his words before walking around Koushi’s seat.

The door opened and Koushi found himself turning around. “Oh, uh, C-Captain Sawamura?” The man stopped. “Th-thank you… For today.  For all of this.”

The Captain smiled again. “It’s nothing. And uh… call me Daichi, please. I’m not much of a fan of titles.”

“Okay. Well then, thank you Daichi.” Koushi said, his lips pulling up in a small smile.

There was a pause. The officer blinked as though seeing Koushi for the first time. “You’re very welcome, Suga.” The other man stared at him for a second too long with a smile a bit too wide and cheeks that were slightly warm. There was a kindness in his eyes and that set Koushi on edge. They continued to stare for another beat before Captain Sawamura – Daichi now – turned away and left the room, vanishing behind the closed blinds.

The door fell closed with a click and Koushi turned around, falling back into the chair. His face was uncomfortably warm and his chest tight. He didn’t know that he was shaking until he looked down at his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, there will not be a chapter next week as I will be out of town with no computer and no internet. Sorry.


	15. Investigation - Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I'm back. I'm sorry for the short chapter I didn't have time to edit much else, but I hope you enjoy!

_ Tuesday, May 30, 2016 _

_ 6:38 pm _

Koushi tapped his fingers against the wooden table, counting the windows of the building across the street for the third time. If he had known there would be so much waiting he would have brought one of his books to read, either psychology or maybe French lit. Frankly, he’d even do math at this point; anything to keep his mind busy.

The door opened and he looked up and over his right shoulder. Daichi hovered in the doorway. “Two officers from SOB arrived, they’re going to be your…” Daichi threw a look over his shoulder to whoever stood just beyond Koushi’s line of sight. The blinds to the conference room were closed so he couldn’t see who was standing out in the hall.

“Babysitters?” Koushi said, lightly.

The captain cracked a small smile and Koushi couldn’t help but feel a little bit victorious. “Not quite, but these two will be watching you to ensure your safety and the safety of the restaurant.”

Daichi stepped aside and two figures slipped into the room, both so familiar Koushi found himself blinking four or five times in rapid succession. “Tetsurou? Kenma? What are you…?”

Kenma stared back. He didn’t look surprised, though Koushi had dropped a glass right beside him and the man hadn’t so much as flinched so seeing Kenma unperturbed wasn’t much of a shock. Tetsurou, on the other hand, looked about as baffled as Koushi felt, with wide eyes and mouth agape. He stared for a second before laughing and clapping Daichi on the back.

The captain flinched under the contact but regained composure quickly. He looked between Koushi and Tetsurou and Kenma. “You know each other?”

“Of course!” Tetsurou laughed. “Who do you think makes me all that late night pasta for you guys? I thought you said we were watching someone named Koushi Sugawara. You mentioned nothing about Suga.”

“He is Koushi Sugawara.”

Koushi spoke over Daichi. “Call me, Suga. Please.” Koushi didn’t mess the tilt of Kenma’s head and the look the smaller man sent his way. Koushi tried not to groan. He owned them both an explanation. No doubt Tetsurou would be on his case until the whole name thing was explained properly. Koushi’s only hope was that Kenma could keep the taller man in check until they could have a long, private conversation.

Daichi looked between the two parties again. “You guys  _ really _ know each other?”

Koushi nodded, “Ask Rosa. Tetsu and Kenma are her favorite customers.” Tetsurou smirked, looking much too proud of himself. Koushi pulled his gaze from Daichi to look at his two regulars. “I thought you were a businessman though?”

Tetsu snorted. “Really? You thought we worked in an office?”

“I thought  _ you _ worked in an office. I knew Kenma did something with tech.” Koushi sat back and found himself almost smiling, the corners of his lips threatening to pull up. How long had he known Tetsurou and Kenma? Three years? And what he knew about them was about the same amount as they knew about him. The thought helped loosen one of the knots in his chest. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one with secrets.

“Both of us are members of Special Ops. Have been for seven years or so.” Tetsurou was smiling as well, and even Kenma had a bright-eyed look that Koushi had come to realize meant he was entertained at the least. 

A cough came from the doorway, and Koushi turned his attention back the police captain. “Glad you all know each other, it’ll make my life a bit easier. Did you call Mrs. Verano?”

Koushi nodded. “Rosa is on her way, she should be here in a few minutes.”

Daichi gave a thankful smile. There was a moment of silence, where the captain shifted back and forth from foot to foot before saying, “I’ll go wait by the elevator then.” With that, he slipped back into the hallway and out of sight behind the blinds.

Koushi found his eyes wandering to Tetsurou and Kenma. Kenma had pulled out his phone and was tapping away at some game. Tetsurou glanced over his shoulder then looked back at Koushi. “We still call you Suga, right?”

“Yes, I’m still Suga,” he said, short and pointedly. He didn’t want to get into that discussion, not now. Tetsu hummed, glanced over him again, then leaned against Kenma to watch his game. Silence filled the room, broken only by soft taps and quiet clips of Kenma’s nails against his phone screen.

They hadn’t known he was Koushi Sugawara, but they had known of Koushi Sugawara. It seemed like everyone in the building did. Koushi could recall Tooru walking around with a manila folder every time they met. It had papers, pictures, and he could only guess what else. Had they seen it? If so, how much? 

“How much do you know?” 

“Hm?” Tetsurou looked up from Kenma’s phone and removed himself from his boyfriend’s side. “What was that?”

Taking a deep breath, Koushi asked, again, “how much do you know?”

“Oh, only what they told us. Name, age, reason we were called and what to look for.” Koushi found himself releasing whatever air he had kept trapped in his lungs and sunk back in his seat. “You’re wanted dead by a pretty powerful gang, you know that?”

Though Kenma didn’t look up from his phone, Koushi realized that the light tapping had stopped. “They don’t want me dead they’re just…”

Tetsurou snorted. “Threatening you. Yeah, we get it.”

Another pause, then the tapping began again and Tetsurou glanced towards Kenma. After a moment of silence, Tetsurou asked, “how much does Rosa know?”

“Just that the… uh…  _ gang _ wants me dead.”

Tetsurou peeked through is wild bangs. “Nothing else?”

Koushi shook his head. “To her, I’m just Suga.”

“To us you’re still Suga.”

Yeah, he wasn’t too sure about that. But instead of saying anything, he sat back in his seat and looked back out the window and across the street. It was getting dark and the building across the street was beginning to light up. So he took the time to count the lit windows, taking deep breaths between each number. He was so focused on the lights, the counting, and the recounting, he didn’t hear the door click open until the captain spoke.

“Mrs. Verano is here, she wants to talk with you.”

Koushi pulled his eyes from the window and turned slowly in his chair to face the door. The room was empty, Tetsurou and Kenma must have walked out when Daichi arrived. Centering himself with a few more steadying breaths, Koushi pushed himself from the chair and crossed to the door. He thanked the other man with a nod of his head as he slipped past.

They walked down the hall. Koushi could already make out Rosa’s voice, loud and rapid before he even saw her. She said something and Tetsurou laughed. Beside him, Captain Sawamura snorted. “They really do get along, don’t they?”

Koushi simply nodded. He’d lost count of the number of time Tetsurou and Kenma sat in the restaurant past closing. Sometimes they sat with Rosa in the front of the restaurant laughing ‘til midnight. Other times they hovered in the kitchen, Tetsurou chatting with the chefs and Kenma joking with Shouyou. Koushi would never have thought the two would be good friends, but somehow they hit it off right from the start, probably over their shared love of videogames and Kenma’s tolerance for volleyball. A small smile slipped over Koushi’s lips. They were good people, and frankly he wouldn’t feel safer with anyone else. He was sure Rosa felt the same.

As they rounded the corner, Koushi glanced to the side and found the captain – Daichi he had to remind himself, again – watching him with a soft, almost fond expression. When the officer realized Koushi had caught him staring, he cleared his throat and turned his attention forward towards the small group that had formed in the middle of the hallway. Koushi turned his gaze back to Rosa too soon to notice the faint blush that dusted Daichi’s cheeks.

Koushi was about to take a step forward when he stopped and turned back to the police captain. “One last question.” Daichi hummed and met his gaze, head tilted and an eyebrow raise. Koushi ignored the lump in his throat and asked before he could over think it again, “do you have Keiji’s number or email? I… I was hoping to get in contact with him before he left L.A.”

“One second.” Daich lifted a hand, turned, then walked to his office, vanishing inside. Not five seconds later, he reappeared and walked back to Koushi, a piece of paper in hand. He held it out and Koushi reached for it tentatively. “Tooru said that you might need this. I think he’s staying in town until Thursday.”

Clutching the note in hand, Koushi glanced back up at the officer. “Thank you, again.”

“Suga it’s really nothing-”

“No, it isn’t.” Koushi cut him off with a look. He could only hope how serious he felt about this was reflected in his eyes or his words or something. “I’ve been nothing but difficult. You didn’t have to be this kind to me and you certainly didn’t have to reintroduce me to an old friend. So thank you.”

Daichi blinked, once, twice. He opened his mouth then closed it, and just stared. Koushi wasn’t sure whether to laugh at his attempt or shrink away from the eyes that seemed to look too closely.

Lucky for the captain he didn’t have to think of a reply because Rosa called. “Tesoro! Suga, look who’s here.”

Koushi turned around and made his way over to the group. “I know.”

“Can you believe they are police!” Rosa’s babbling continued, and she must have said something pretty amusi , because Tetsu laughed, Kenma smiled, and from somewhere around them other bubbles or chuckling arose. But Koushi tuned them out, instead, staring at the hand written note. He was feeling oddly brave tonight. Maybe it was the weather.

“Don’t you agree, Tesoro?”

Koushi glanced up. “What? I’m sorry?”

Tetsu snorted and even Kenma let out a soft breath of laughter. Rosa just rolled her eyes. “See, he never listens to anything.”

“I listen to plenty,” Koushi sighed. Normally he’d fight back or make a joke but now wasn’t the time. He clutched the paper in his hand. “I have a phone call I need to make, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Rose watched him with a careful look but said nothing. Tetsurou and Kenma only nodded. “Best reception is in the hallway,” Tetsurou said.

Koushi was already walking in that direction. He threw a quick thank you over his shoulder as he turned the corner. He stopped and leaned back against the white wall, between two pictures, one of a gentleman who was all smiles, and another of a woman who looked like she hadn’t grinned a day in her life. Without dwelling on the thought of what he was doing, Koushi pulled out his phone and dialed the number on the paper.

Only when he was two rings in, did it hit him. He was calling Keiji after having not spoken to him, in eight years. What would he even say? Sorry for breaking down on Sunday? Sorry for vanishing off the face of the earth for eight years and making you think I was dead? Sorry for never calling or visiting, but I couldn’t.

“Hello, this is Keiji Akaashi. How may I help you?” Something about Keiji’s voice soothed Koushi’s stream of thoughts. It wasn’t filled with emotion, it was simple and to the point, no different than it had been eight years ago.

Koushi let out a breath. “Hey, Keiji. This is Su-” He cleared his throat with a cough before continuing. “It’s Koushi. I was wondering if we could meet for lunch tomorrow.”


	16. Investigation - Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy this update!
> 
> TW: detailed mentions/discussion of forced prostitution, sexual assault, and death/ blood

_ Wednesday, May 31, 2016 _

_ 7:38 am _

Tooru’s briefcase clattered to the floor beside him as he sat down. “Let’s make this quick. I need to be in court by eight thirty.”

Daichi looked up from his laptop before pushing away from the desk and guiding the chair to the side so that he could fully face the attorney. “I spoke with Koushi yesterday.”

“So you mentioned. What happened?”

“He didn’t see the shooter.” Tooru’s eyebrows shot up and he pushed off from the back of the chair. Daichi raised a hand. “The shooter saw him, he knows that for sure. But the patio lights are dead. The only things he saw were the gun, the height of the man - he said he was tall - and that he had dark hair.”

Tooru snorted. “Well, that’s helpful. There are thousands of tall men with dark hair in L.A.”

“Not all of them are in the White Lilies though. And most don’t know who Suga is.”

Daichi realized his mistake just as Tooru’s eyes lit up. “ _ Suga _ ? Well Captain, looks like things are moving along.”

Heat spread across his cheeks as Daichi willed himself not to sink down in his chair. It wasn’t like he had a desk to hide behind at the moment. “Things are  _ not _ moving along.”

“Whatever you say,” Tooru said as he sat back. “Just remember to watch from afar for now. He’s a witness, and I will not have his testimony compromised because he’s seeing a police officer.”

Daichi groaned and ran his hands down his face. “We aren’t  _ seeing _ each other, Tooru. We met a week ago. I barely know him.” And yet Daichi knew that Suga blamed himself more than he should. He knew Suga was a hard worker. He knew that Suga was compassionate and cared deeply for Rosa and the rest of his friends. He also knew that Suga had a lovely smile, small and bright. Daichi had been the recipient of exactly two of those smiles in the last day alone, each more beautiful than the next, and he knew that he wouldn’t get tired of them anytime soon. He could see them forever and still want more.

“Besides,” Daichi mumbled, saving himself from his own thoughts. “This is work.”

Tooru didn’t try to hide the roll of his eyes. “Work, yes. It’s always work.”

“People’s safety comes first. Now, as we were saying, we don’t have a suspect. But we have André Komi. Mr. Sugawara said that he knew him.” Daichi sat back and let his fingers drum over the armrests. “I think that he’s our best bet.”

Tooru nodded and glanced down at his silver watch. “Is that all?”

“SOB sent Tetsu and Kenma over to watch Suga. They said they’ll text me if they notice anything suspicious.” Tooru wrinkled his nose, and Daichi sighed. “I know you don’t like him, but Tetsurou is very good at his job.”

“I didn’t say that,” the attorney huffed. “I just feel bad that Mrs. Verano and Mr. Sugawara have to put up with him.”

“Kenma’s there, I’m sure Suga will be fine.”

Tooru glanced down at his watch again and stood up. “I should get going, you know how L.A. traffic is. If anything comes up, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.”

Daichi stood up and crossed the room to hold the door open for the attorney. “What case is it?”

“Hofstra. The woman who wouldn’t admit to stabbing her son even though her fingerprints were everywhere.” Tooru sighed and shook his head “You’d think this would have been over six months ago.”

Daichi sent a small smile Tooru’s way. “Well good luck, though I don’t think you need it. Oh, and Tooru?” The lawyer stopped. “Thank you for that paper you left on Sunday with Officer Akaashi’s contact info. Suga took it yesterday.”

“I should’ve put your number on it, shouldn’t I?”

“Don’t you have a trial to get to?” Hajime huffed from his desk.

Tooru smiled. “Aww is the lieutenant jealous that I didn’t leave him a card with my number? You do realize that you don’t need that, right?”

A series of chuckles echoed from Ryu and Yuu’s desks, and even Chikara was grinning down at his computer. Hajime didn’t look up, but even staring at his back, Daichi could make out the red tips of his ears.

He pulled his eyes from the lieutenant and turned back to Tooru. “I’ll call you if anything changes.”

“Please make sure to tell me when I finally have someone to prosecute.”

“Will do.”

With one last wave and a wink for Hajime, Tooru vanished around the corner. Daichi looked back over his team. “Tobio, go grab Kei and Tadashi, I want us to talk about what our next move is going to be in the Sugawara Case.”

 

* * *

 

_ Wednesday, May 31, 2016 _

_ 12:07 pm _

Koushi found himself in line at the coffee shop twenty-three minutes early. He told himself that he’d done it in order to find a table. But it was noon, on a Wednesday, so the shop was nearly empty. Yes, there were a fair number of people hovering around the pickup counter, but they looked to be a mixture of business people and workers. They were there to get their drinks then return to work.

After ordering a large green tea, Koushi found a seat in the back corner of the café. He tried his best to ignore Kenma who had been standing two people back in line and then sat across the shop after ordering. A week ago, Koushi might have waved or walked over to say hello, now he was under strict orders to ignore Kenma. It was strange having bodyguards, especially two that he already knew. Even with them, Koushi had still walked downstairs that morning to find a note slipped under the front door. As much as he had wanted to open the note and read whatever terrible message they had for him, he instead called for Kenma and Tetsurou who appeared almost instantly.

Koushi never read what the fifth letter said to him, but judging by the scowl Kenma wore after reading it, it wasn’t anything good. Koushi let out a breath. He’d gone to the police, he’d told them everything, now all there was left to do was wait. He needed to talk with Tooru again as well, but what was the point in talking to an attorney when there was no one to prosecute?

The door opened, letting in a hot gust of air that moved through the cool shop. Koushi glanced up and almost turned away when he realized who had stepped through the door. For a moment, Koushi was back in the library, waving his friends over to the corner they always sat in. Keiji didn’t look a day out of college, with his face round and clear, and his hair tousled and uncombed.

A second later and Koushi’s gaze was met with dark, seemingly uninterested eyes. Keiji blinked twice, then gave Koushi a quick nod before stepping into line. Koushi’s own drink was called by the name “Suga.” He picked up his green tea and held in close to his chest even after he sat back down. A moment later Keiji slid into the booth across from him.

For a while, they just stared at one another. Keiji looked like someone who had witnessed a friend or lover’s death and then found himself standing in front of that person again. But Koushi hadn’t died, he’d been alive the whole time, though he had been missing for eight years. Eight years felt like a lifetime, really. Koushi had believed he was the only one to think that way, but looking at the man across from him he realized that maybe he wasn’t.

The light babbling of the room pulled Koushi from his thoughts. Koushi opened his mouth. He was the one who asked for this meeting to take place, but what could you say that would bridge eight years? He was saved by one of the baristas calling for Keiji’s drink. An iced black coffee. Even after eight years Koushi still remembered how much caffeine it took for Keiji to function in the morning. That appeared to still be true.

Keiji grabbed his drink and slipped back into the booth, taking a slow sip. Koushi must have made some face, because Keiji set down his drink and said, “Still not a coffee fan?”

“I just don’t understand how anyone can drink it without any sugar or cream or milk,” Koushi replied, taking a sip of his own green tea. One of the knots in his chest loosened. It might have been the tea, but it also could have been the conversation.

“It’s too sweet if you add sugar and too think with creamer. Milk’s okay with decaf in the evenings.”

“Decaf in the evenings. Aren’t you fancy.”

They stared at each other for a second before Koushi snorted and Keiji’s eyes lit up with amusement.

Koushi took another long sip of his drink, hoping Keiji would pick up the conversation. But Keiji stared at him as though he was a wild animal. After what happened on Sunday, Koushi couldn’t really blame him. “How do you like L.A. so far?” Koushi asked the first question that came to mind after a beat and a breath.

“Fine.” Keiji shrugged. “The city’s a bit too messy and busy for my liking, though. I’m not sure how you’ve adapted.”

“You get used to it,” Koushi said.

When silence settled between them once more, Koushi took yet another sip of his green tea and settled in his chair. This was nice. This was like college, only they weren’t studying and the conversation was choppy and the flow a bit forced, but they could get back to that spot, Koushi was sure of it.

“How long have you been in L.A?”

The questions cut through the silence and even the background noise of the café like a kitchen knife, sharp and quick. For a second Koushi just stared, even considered leaving, but instead, let out a breath and said, “seven years. Maybe seven and a half.” Keiji eyes widened and his jaw tensed.

“You wouldn’t have found me,” Koushi continued even when Keiji frowned and tried to mow him down with a skeptical look. “Trust me. They… uh… I was kept well out of sight. N-no one would have found me.”

“Even after working in the restaurant?”

“A small, Italian restaurant downtown? You wouldn’t have looked there. Besides I wasn’t… I’m not…” Koushi let out a breath to try and recollect his frying thoughts. “You were looking for Koushi Sugawara, and at that time I was Suga Michimiya.”

“Who are you now?”

Keiji’s eyes were desperate and sad, he was trying to understand and couldn’t. Koushi let his gaze drop to his green tea. His hand picked at the cardboard cup holder as to not pick at his disgustingly short nails. “I don’t know,” he said softly.

“Koushi, what happened to you? Why were you gone for so long?”  _ Why didn’t you come back?  _ The last question hung in the air the words unsaid but as loud as all the others. Why didn’t he go back? It was as easy as one train ride. One flight. One three-hour drive. Rosa probably would have taken him if he had asked.

“I couldn’t. I’m not the same person I…” Koushi looked at his green tea and fell silent as a couple walked by, laughing. “Let’s go talk somewhere else.”

He stood up, half-consumed tea in hand and walked to the door. He tossed his cup then stepped outside. The coolness of the café was washed off of him instantly, leaving his skin hot and sticky with sweat. Keiji walked a few steps behind him. Koushi didn’t have to see him to know that he was there, just as he knew Kenma was somewhere behind them, trailing just out of sight.

“I’m sorry about Sunday,” Koushi finally said when they were at the street corner waiting for the light to change. “I wasn’t ready.”

“I thought they would have told you I was coming,” Keiji responded.

“If they had, I wouldn’t have gone to talk with them.” Koushi glanced over to the man walking beside him. “What have you been up to these past eight years?” Keiji glanced over at him, head tilted slightly. “We have a bit of a walk,” was Koushi’s explanation. He wasn’t about to talk in a crowd.

Keiji stared back for a few moments, and when it was clear that Koushi wasn’t about to talk anymore, sighed. “Well, I took a lot of summer courses after you left.” Koushi swallowed the bitterness in his mouth and nodded, hoping that his grimace wasn’t too obvious. If Keiji noticed, which he no doubt had, he just continued talking. “I ended up graduating a year early because I had enough credits. I got my masters in law enforcement, and then found a job.”

“Law enforcement? Not forensics?”

“It just happened,” Keiji said with a half-shrug.

“What do you do now?”

“I work for the San Diego Police Department. I’ve been an undercover officer for the last two years.” Keiji must have seen the questioning look on Koushi’s face because he continued, “I work a lot with high schools and drug rings.”

Koushi nodded. “That sounds exhausting.”

“It is. Where are we going?”

“A place that hopefully isn’t this crowded.”

They continued to walk down the street, chatting as they did so. The topics varied, and nothing lasted long, but Koushi was thankful for it. It kept his mind busy and away from the conversation that was about to happen. They arrived at Grand Park a few minutes later. Koushi smiled at the familiar walkways and statues. Beside him, Keiji looked around.

“I know it’s no Balboa Park, but this is the closest thing you can get to green in downtown L.A.” Koushi said.

Keiji nodded. “It’s… nice.”

They moved down the path, eventually peeling off to sit on a small half-wall hidden in the shade of a tree. The park was less busy than the city. Most kids were still in school, so the only people walking around were a few elderly couples, some twenty-somethings, and businessmen who were passing through. If Kenma was nearby, he did a good job of keeping out of sight. Koushi shifted and began to pick at his nails, trying to ignore the knots that began to reform in his chest. Keiji sat beside him, silent, eyes open, expecting but not forcing. That was one of the things Koushi appreciated about Keiji the most, his complete and utter patience.

“I can’t go back,” Koushi mumbled. His voice wasn’t breaking, but it was close. He took a few deep breaths. “Not after everything Rosa did for me but I also…” He let out another breath of air and a dry laugh. “This isn’t what I wanted to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“I should… I should.” Koushi swallowed, took a few deep breaths, and stared firmly ahead. “I-I was kidnapped. Well, no… not really. You remember that guy I was seeing? The one who let me stay at his apartment and helped me get books and fix my phone?” Koushi glanced over to see that Keiji was nodding and trying not to glare. “You called him a scumbag, and Mori said he couldn’t be trusted. Well, you were right. You were all right. While he was helping me, he said that he needed some money for the rent and asked if I could help. I agreed because I was living there, but I couldn’t find a job. He told me about this uh… friend of his who’d pay me to… sleep with him. W-well I ended up doing it, but the money wasn’t enough. It was never enough. By the time I figured out what was happening h-he… I was in L.A.”

Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, and his voice felt raw and shaky, but even if he wanted to stop he couldn’t. The words just slipped from him, and in some way, the pressure he had once felt in his chest, on his shoulders, was lifted and replaced with a new kind of bitter and hot hate the pounded through his veins. It was his fault that he fell for it, Koushi knew that, but he couldn’t help but think of that kind face, soft but dark eyes. They’d been so understanding and loving one day and then hate filled and dark the next. Koushi hadn’t seen it coming, though everyone else seemed to. The hate bubbled up again. Yes it was his own fault for being naive, but it was also that man’s fault. It had to be.

“I lived with other people, women and men alike. Some were a few years older than me, others were as young as fifteen, sixteen. I-I don’t really remember. A lot of it is blurry. We were forced to pick up clients and if we didn’t…” Koushi swallowed, he could still feel the burns of the belt and the cigarette buds. “Th-that’s where I met Yui Michimiya. We became friends. She was from San Diego too. I… I’m alive because of her…”

A dry wind rustled the leaves of the trees, and hot air spun around them, picking up dust. Koushi stared at his hands. The first two fingers on his left hand were bloody around the cuticles. He hadn’t noticed he’d been picking at his nails again. He couldn’t even feel the sting. He could, however, feel the weight of Keiji’s eyes on his left cheek. He refused to look up. He wasn’t going to stare into eyes full of sadness, or worse pity.

His skin itched with the weight of dozens of pairs of hands.  _ Dirty. Soiled. _ It was by some sick miracle that he wasn’t infected with anything but bad dreams and a strong distaste for too much physical touch.

“How did you escape?” Keiji’s quiet words cut through the blaring thoughts.

Koushi didn’t look up. Didn’t lift his head. Didn’t move as a heavy weight returned to his shoulders and the twisting of his stomach only worsened. “Yui and I saved money, little by little. It took a long time. When we had enough, we slipped out one night and just ran. I got away but she…” his throat tightened. If he stared at the ground long enough he could see her body, slouched forward, face in the sidewalk, blood pooling and dripping along the cracks. “She wasn’t as lucky.”

“How did you meet Rose?”

Koushi was thankful for the distraction, was thankful that Keiji could still read him. Or maybe the question was luck. Whatever it was, Koushi was thankful. “Who?”

Keiji shifted, his eyes darting to the side in a way that meant he was thinking. “The women you’re staying with?”

“Rosa? Oh, she found me and picked me off of the street. I just… ended up staying.” Koushi forced himself to sit up and watched the man beside him through the corner of his eye.

Keiji nodded. “She must be a nice woman then.”

“She is. She gave me food, a place to sleep, a job, and even paid for my education for some time.”

“Where do you go to school?”

“I take a few classes at Cal State.”

“Still interested in teaching?”

Koushi shrugged. “I’ve been leaning more towards psychology.” He hadn’t realized that he was sitting up fully until he was looking Keiji in the eye. Keiji was listening with clear interest and a sad sort of depth to his gaze. Koushi hadn’t even noticed the topic change, and while his stomach still twisted and his chest ached, he no longer felt like he was split open for the world to see. But there was more to say, there was always more to say and Koushi didn’t even know where to start.

“Thank you,” he muttered, looking for the words. Something in his pocket buzzed and Koushi pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. “Oh… I need to go.”

Keiji tilted his head. “Where?”

“I have a…” his voice withered away, but he took a breath and tried again. There was nothing to be ashamed of. “I have an appointment with a therapist in twenty-minutes.”

“You do?” Koushi couldn’t read the tone of Keiji’s voice, but the younger man was looking at Koushi with a sort of pride, even if he wasn’t smiling.

Koushi turned his attention back to his phone as he looked up alternative bus routes. Maybe he could catch something near by and only be a few minutes late. “I did. But I missed the bus.”

“Where is it?”

“Just south of downtown.”

“I’ll drive you.”

Koushi looked up. “You really don’t have to.” But he was already standing and following Keiji back down the sidewalk and texting Kenma about Keiji’s offer.

The walk back was pleasant, more pleasant than Koushi thought. It was strange like their conversation hadn’t even happened, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It was almost like being back in college. Keiji spoke about the various museums he’d been two the last few days, and the places he still wanted to visit. They passed by the café they had gotten drinks at, turned the corner, and stopped by the car Keiji had rented for the week.

Koushi slipped in and allowed himself a second to bask in the scent of clean a car, something he rarely got the luxury of doing, considering he only ever used public transportation or Rosa’s car.

“Are you really leaving tomorrow?” Koushi asked once Keiji had pulled the car away from the curb and driven for a few blocks, listening to the phone for where to turn.

“I extended my stay, so I’m leaving next Tuesday. I’d stay longer but I have to be in court starting next Wednesday.

They spoke a little more about Keiji’s job and what it entailed. Koushi still couldn’t see his friend as an officer out in the field, at least not in the same regard at Tetsurou or Daichi. It was a change, but Koushi had expected a lot of them so he wasn’t surprised. Soon Keiji was pulling the car up to the curb in front of the tan building where Dr. Bokuto’s office was. Koushi wasn’t sure whether he wanted to get out or hide in the car.

“I apologize, you’re still two minutes late.”

Of course, that was what Keiji was worried about, it caused a small smile to slip over Koushi’s lips. So maybe things hadn’t changed as much as he thought. “Don’t worry about it. Thanks for driving me.” Koushi opened the door then paused. “We should meet again before you go, Koushi said before stepping out of the car.

Keiji just gave him a small smile in return.

Koushi said one last thank you before closing the door and waving to his friend. With a sigh he turned and made his way towards the building.

 

* * *

 

_ Wednesday, May 31, 2016 _

_ 2:32 pm _

“If we can’t track him down, why don’t we just bust in there and pull him for breaking and entering? I know a few of the guys down in gangs, I’m sure I could-”

“No Yuu, we’re not tracking down their hideout.” Daichi cut the detective off. “We’ve been on this case for over a week, and so far the general public, White Lilies included, think that we don’t have any leads. If we were to pull a guy for breaking and entering they’ll know that something's up. We need to corner him.”

Daichi looked around the small half-circle they had formed around Chikara’s desk. The lieutenant was seated in his chair writing something down, while the rest of the crew was standing. Daichi leaned against the corner of the desk, looking at Lieutenant Iwaizumi who stood directly to this left.

It was times like this when Daichi wished Tooru was here. As loud and brash and just plain annoying as the lawyer could be, he was always thinking, always planning. He always seemed to have an idea of what the next step should be.  _ He should have been promoted to Captain. _ Daichi squashed the thought as quickly as it came. Now was not the time to wallow in self-doubt.

The ring of the department phone pulled Daichi from the nooks of his own mind. He blinked and glanced towards the person closest the phone. Tobio was already halfway there by the time Daichi’s eyes reached him. The young detective reached the phone on the third ring and picked it up quickly.

“Hello, homicide and major crimes division this is-” The room fell silent. Tobio shot a glance towards Daichi. “Yes. The Captain’s here.” Tobio held the phone away from his mouth and met Daichi’s gaze. “It’s Officer Kozume, he wants to speak with you.”

With a raised eyebrow, Daichi pushed himself from the desk, wove through the circle of officers, and crossed the room to Tobio, who handed him the phone without another word. Placing the phone between his shoulder and his ear, Daichi spoke, “Officer Kozume, how are you?”

On the other end of the line, Kenma clicked his tongue at the formality and said, “I think someone is following Suga.”

“What?” Daichi glanced up, now he had the entire division’s attention.

“It’s still speculation, but I thought I saw someone at the café, and when a Officer Akaashi and Suga got up and headed to the park I saw them again.” Daichi opened his mouth to ask for details but Kenma was already talking. “Taller than Suga, slim, grey hoodie, I never got a good look at their face, but I’m pretty sure they were male. Nothing’s confirmed yet, and I haven’t seen them in a half-hour or so. I think we lost them when Officer Akaashi gave Suga a ride to therapy.”

Daichi nodded. “Thank you, Kenma. Do they match the picture of André Kato or the description Suga gave us of the killer?”

There was a pause on the other line. “That’s to be determined.”

Daichi waited again for the other man to continue, but when nothing else was added, the captain bid Kenma his thanks once again. The officer on the other end huffed and promised to keep in touch. A beat later and the line was dead. Daichi put the phone back and turned around to face the group of expecting detectives.

“What’s the news?” Yuu asked, eyes alit with interest. “Did he catch the guy? Was someone else murdered?”

Ignoring Yuu’s other questions, Daichi jumped right into passing along what Kenma had just told him. “Kenma just called to tell me that he thinks Suga has a stalker.” Saying it aloud made the thought finally set in, and something in Daichi flipped. His blood suddenly ran cold, his chest tightened and the only thing running through his mind was how he couldn’t help this kind man. He’d done all he could and now he just had to sit back and watch.

“Is it André?” Yuu asked.

“Is it anyone from the White Lilies?” Hajime inquired.

Chikara turned his seat so he was facing Daichi. “Will they need any back up?”

Taking a breath Daichi looked to Chikara first. “Kenma and Tetsu know what they’re doing, Suga will be fine.” It took a second to realize that he hadn’t answered Chikara’s question at all, and that the Lieutenant was watching him, head still tilted, waiting. “They’ll let us know if they need any extra help. The identity of the stalker is unknown. It might be André Kato, or it could be someone completely unrelated. As of right now, it’s all speculation.”

The men nodded, some whispering, none too quietly, to themselves and the people around them. Yuu and Ryu had their heads put together, speculating on something and possibly taking bets. Daichi looked back over the division. “Don’t we have paperwork to be doing?”

“Hey, I’ve been working on it,” Chikara said, turning back to the papers spread across his desk and his open computer

Daichi looked to Hajime who leaned back in his chair with a shrug. “I’m waiting to hear back from the women before I continue.”

Tobio stiffened once Daichi’s gaze reached him. “I’ll get to work, sir.”

Daichi turned once again, his gaze landing on Yuu and Ryu, who were still whispering to each other. For a few seconds they didn’t look up, but when he cleared his throat they paused. “You’re paperwork?”

“Right on it!” “Yes, sir!” They mumbled, turning and scuttling back to their desks.

With one last look over at his crew, Daichi turned and started back to his office, mind busy with what needed to be done. Still, somewhere his the back corner of his thoughts all he could see was Suga’s small, blinding smile. The idea of anyone harming him was a physical ache in Daichi’s chest.


	17. Investigation - Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy a little bit of Kenma POV (totally not self-indulgent, no sir) and actually moving the damn plot along.
> 
> TW: stalking & death mentioned

_Friday, June 1, 2016_

_8:47 am_

Suga was out to meet with Keiji again. Before he left he told Kenma where they were going – the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA – and Kenma made them a map. Originally, Suga had asked if he could go to a museum outside of downtown, but Kenma had convinced them not to. Going that far would require taking a bus, and as good as Suga’s stalker was, Kenma was sure they’d lose him if they did anything other than walk. Instead, they settled on one of the many museums downtown Los Angeles had to offer. The idea was that Kenma would leave a few minutes before them to walk a few blocks over then wait. He would cross paths with them later, and then begin following Suga and Officer Akaashi.

The officer was meeting Suga at the restaurant so Kenma was unconcerned about the two blocks when Suga would be out of sight. Kuro had been a little more doubtful until Kenma reminded him that it was almost nine in the morning and that the friend Suga was meeting with was a trained police officer. Kuro relaxed after that.

Kenma never told them where he would meet them, or what he was doing, only that he would wear a red hat, snap back because it was summer and there was no way he would wear a beanie. He ended up borrowing the hat from Shouyou, Suga’s excitable coworker.

Kenma left the restaurant through the side door five minutes before Suga was to leave with his friend. Kenma would have liked walking around L.A if it weren’t for the oppressively dry heat that chipped at his lips and burned his arms and face unless he applied ridiculous amounts of lotion. It was barely even summer and Kenma was already wishing for the winter storms that occasionally came in from the ocean.

Sticking in the shade as much as possible, the young SOB agent made his way down the street. Seven and a half minutes later, he crossed the street and ended up half a block behind Suga and Officer Akaashi. Kenma pulled out his phone and kept his head ducked. Every fourth step he lifted his head and glanced around.

They were ten minutes into their walk when a tall man in a white shirt peeled himself from some wall and slipped into the crowd in front of Kenma. He walked with a purpose his attention focused ahead, but it was never good to jump to conclusions, so Kenma watched him with the same level of suspicion as he watched everyone else.

Fifteen minutes into their walk, the man was still there.

Twenty minutes later and two blocks away from the museum, the man fell back and walked beside Kenma, his eyes still fixated on something ahead of him. Now able to see his line of sight, Kenma realized just obvious he was.

Twenty-two minutes later, Suga and Officer Akaashi were in front of the museum, and the man was four steps behind Kenma. Suga and his friend crossed the street to the museum, while Kenma stood on the street corner with the more-than-likely stalker waiting for the next green light. Flipping his phone to camera, Kenma leaned against the nearest light post and smiled, but he wasn’t looking at his own face on the screen. Instead, the camera was focused on the man in the white shirt. At this angle, Kenma could get little more than the half of his face.

He took the picture anyway and sent it off to Kei. Hopefully, it would be enough for the facial recognition software to work with, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get another one. Kenma wasn’t given too much time to think about that though because the light turned green and the man in the white shirt started walking again. Kenma kept his eyes on the man and walked to where Suga was waiting in line.

The man in the white shirt never stepped into the museum, but Suga did, so Kenma did too. The museum was nice. Kenma had never been much of an art person, but he appreciated the quietness and people watching was always fun, plus air-conditioning never hurt. The rest of his morning was spent following Suga from room to room and waiting to hear back from Kei.

Around noon, Kenma was in the cafeteria, in a seat against the wall when his phone buzzed. Figuring it was Kuro checking up either on him or on Suga – possible both – he pulled his eyes away from the room and to his phone. It was a text from Kei.

**From: Kei Tsukishima**

_Friday 12:07pm_

Picture is a match for André Kato.

A second later another text came in

**From: Captain Sawamura**

_Friday 12:08_

We’re having a meeting at 1630, be there and bring Tetsu

Kenma typed out a quick reply to the homicide division leader. When that was done he let Kuro know about their meeting then looked up. Across the cafeteria, Suga and Officer Akaashi were standing. Kenma rose soon after them and trailed them out back into the body of the museum

 

Only when they were back at the restaurant and Suga was sitting alone after Officer Akaashi had left, did Kenma approach, slipping into the seat across from the man, files close to his chest. Suga was deep into his book, psychology if Kenma remembered correctly, but he must have felt Kenma’s eyes or sensed his presence because a second later he looked up. With an eyebrow raised and his face open and curious it was easy to tell the question that sat on Suga’s tongue.

“Do you know a man named André Kato?”

Suga frowned. “Daichi asked me the same thing.”

“Do you?”

Suga nodded.

“Could you describe him for me.”

Suga sat back and blinked. Kenma watched him until Suga sputtered a response,  “I don’t know. He was tall… I think. Black hair, or maybe it was brown, I don’t remember. I can’t even picture his face.”

“Could recognize him if I showed you a picture?” Kenma asked, his thumb playing with the corner of the file.

“Maybe?” Suga shuffled in his seat and glanced left then right like he was looking for a way out.

Kenma wasted no time opening the file and sliding out five pictures. He placed them in a horizontal line in facing Suga. All of the pictures were headshots of various Andrés that had gone through the system. Only one was André Kato.

Suga glanced over all of them then looked to Kenma. “Who are these men?” He asked, his voice small.

“Do you recognize any of them?”

Biting his lip Suga sat back and studied each picture one at a time. When he got to the fourth one he stopped. For a second his just stared, then glanced at the fifth picture, then focused back to the fourth man who smirked at the camera, looking all too pleased with himself. “This… this is him, isn’t it? This is André.”

“How do you know?”

“That smirk. I’ve seen that smirk.” Suga picked up the picture with a shaking hand and held it in out in front of him. With a sudden gasp, the picture slipped from his fingers and fluttered back down to the table. “That’s him.” Suga breathed. “That’s the man who tried to kill me.”

Kenma froze, arm extended as he reached to put the photos back in the file. He looked up at Suga, studying the man for a second. Suga stared down at the picture with wide eyes. His hands were still shaking.

“What do you mean by that?” Kenma asked calmly as he could.

“A-André was the man who tried to shoot me the night of the murder. He’s the one who killed that woman. I’m sure of it.”

 

* * *

 

_Saturday, June 2, 2016_

_10:07 am_

Koushi stepped into the elevator of the police headquarters flanked by Rosa, Kenma, and Tetsuro. As the doors closed and Rosa pressed the button, Koushi watched at himself in the mirrored wall. His gaze went straight to the purple-gray bags under his eyes. His pale skin did nothing to hide them. He hadn’t been able to escape André’s smirk. He’d fall asleep only to wake up to the sound of a gunshot and a smiling man. After waking up for the third time with a ghost of a scream on his lips, Koushi didn’t go back to sleep.

To his right, Rosa fidgeted with her purse. Her face held its usual small smile and determined eyes, but her smile was fake, and her hands continued to twist and pull at the straps of her bag. Koushi wanted nothing more than to place a hand on her shoulder. But every time he considered doing so, he’d remember just how much blood, sex, and lies his hands were drenched in.

Something nudged his elbow, and he glanced up to meet Tetsurou’s sharp gaze. The man raised an eyebrow and Koushi just shook his head, offering a small smile in return. As strange as Kenma and Tetsurou’s constant presence had been the last few days, they were a comfort as well. It was nice to know that every time he left Rosa at the restaurant, left his coworkers and friends at the restaurant, they were being looked after. They were safe. It was equally comforting to know that while André shadowed his every step, Kenma was off to the side, waiting and watching.

With one final shudder, the elevator doors creaked open and the four of them stepped out into the hall. “I swear that elevator gets slower every time,” Tetsurou said as they started towards the offices.

“I think it’s because of added weight,” Kenma replied.

“Hey, don’t go calling Suga and Rosa fat!”

“I’m not,” Kenma said as they entered the room full of more people and Suga thought could fit in the division’s office. “I’m calling you fat.”

Before Tetsurou could get another word in, Detective Nishinoya jumped out from a clump of people and yelled, “Hey, Daich, Tooru! Suga arrived!”

Koushi glanced around but he couldn’t see where the police captain was. There were so many people spread out over the room. Some stood in small clumps around the desks, others leaned against the walls, and a few waited in the hallways. Upon hearing Detective Nishinoya, they all looked up and at Koushi, watching him, assessing him. Chikara, Hajime and Tobio, gave him a few reassuring smiles and waves. The rest just stared. Koushi took a step back and pulled his arms around himself before letting his gaze wander to the ground.

They knew. That much was obvious. They knew who he was and what had happened. Maybe they didn’t know everything. In fact, they probably didn’t know _everything_ , but Koushi felt as though they did. Their gazes were heavy. He wondered what they saw when they stared at him. Maybe a scared young man, or maybe what they saw was the young man who had sold himself for a few hundred a night. Maybe they saw the young man who had run away, leaving his friend to die. Or perhaps they saw the young man who had lived a lie for five years. Something in his gut twisted and nausea bubbled up, but Koushi was frozen under their gazes, trapped in the attention.

“Suga, just in time.” Koushi had never been so grateful to look up and see a federal prosecutor walking towards him. Tooru stopped in front of them and sent a smile around the group. “Mrs. Verano. Officer Kozume, Officer Kuroo, it’s been awhile how are you?”

“DDA Oikawa,” Tetsurou said through clenched teeth. “I’m well, how are you?”

“Could be better. And you Mrs. Verano, how are you fairing?”

Rosa took a deep breath. She looked around the room, and her pleasant expression faltered. Her smile dropped into a straight line and her brow creased with worry. She looked to Koushi and her smile returned as she reached and brushed a strand of silvery hair across his brow. “As long as Suga is safe, I’m fine.”

Tooru nodded. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that. The people here are the best of the best. They won’t let anything happen to Mr. Michimiya.”

His words mixed with his kind tone and confident gaze seemed to take off some of the pressure because her shoulders relaxed and she stopped twisting her bag for a moment. She observed the lawyer for a second before taking two steps forward and throwing her arms around him, pulling him into a crushing hug. “Grazie,” she whispered. “Grazie mille.” They stayed like that for a moment, Tooru half bent down, his arms awkwardly around her small frame before she pulled away.

Tooru straightened up and looked to the two detectives. “Officer Kuroo, can you take Mrs. Verano to Daichi’s officer. I believed he wanted to speak to her.”

Tetsurou grumbled something under his breath but walked over to Rosa. They exchanged a few words but Koushi couldn’t hear them over the mass of other voices. Rosa turned around and took a step towards him. She kissed the top of his head, before following Tetsurou and Kenma through the crowd and towards Daichi’s office.

Once they were alone, Tooru turned his attention back to Koushi. “Now the real question is - how do you feel, Koushi?”

Koushi looked around at all the people. They had stopped gaping at him like a mythical creature, but every now and again he could feel a pair of eyes on him, if only for a second. He tried not to think about how much of the conversations that were floating around her about him. It sent his skin crawling. He looked back to the attorney. “It’s… overwhelming. I know you said we were having a group meeting but why are all of these people here?”

Tooru sighed. “Daichi, Kenma, Tetsurou, and I have been in contact over the last twenty-four hours, deciding what we do with our new piece of information. We came up with an idea, but for it to work we need a few more hands.”

A few more hands… Koushi looked up again. “This is more than a few.”

“I know. Just….” Tooru frowned, glared at something over Koushi’s shoulder, then let out a breath. “We’re doing this to make sure you’re safe, okay?”

“What would you need-?”

Tooru glanced over his shoulder. “The Captain should have broken the news to Rosa by now, so I think it’s safe to go in.”

Tooru turned and without another word started through the crowd. Koushi trailed behind him, practically glued to the attorney’s hip. They stopped quite a lot as they wove through the people. Tooru was popular, though with his pretty face and outgoing demeanor that didn’t surprise Koushi very much. He seemed to know everyone and considering his profession as a district prosecutor that also didn’t surprise Koushi very much...

Tooru was swept into yet another conversation when someone tapped Koushi’s shoulder, causing him to jump. He spun around, heart pounding, and met a set of dark, seemingly tired eyes.

“I’m sorry for startling you,” the man said.

“Keiji, what are you doing here?”

“DDA Oikawa contacted me and told me about what their plan was. They thought you could use some support.”

Koushi was about to speak when Tooru appeared at his elbow. “Ready to go? Oh, Detective Akaashi, I’m glad you could join us.”

“Is Keiji coming too?”

Tooru nodded. “Yes.”

With that, the three of them made their way to the door without anymore interruptions. Koushi paused before the door. Through the glass he could see Daichi at his desk, frowning, and Rosa leaning forward in her seat. The tension in her shoulders was back, and though Koushi couldn’t see her face he could see her gripping her bag. It didn’t sit well in his chest. Without waiting for Tooru to explain anything and without asking, Koushi walked into the room.

The tension was palpable. The air was thick with it. Behind him, two more sets of footsteps echoed before the door clicked shut. No more noise was made. Daichi didn’t look up and Rosa didn’t look back to see who had entered. It was like they were in their own little world.

After a beat, Daichi looked up and his gaze snapped to Koushi. For a moment he just stared, and for the second time that day Koushi felt like he was on display, though it didn’t feel as exposed with the police captain. He couldn’t put it into words, but he didn’t feel pried open under Daichi’s gaze. Soon enough though, everyone in the room was watching him again and once again it was like being under a magnifying glass or standing in a spotlight.

Clearing his throat, Daichi looked away and nodded to the chair to the left of Rosa. “Please have a seat.”

Koushi did, and Keiji came to stand by his side. Tooru closed the blinds than took a few steps into the room to lean against the wall beside Tetsurou and Kenma. Daichi glanced around again, his eyes hovering on Koushi for an extra second before he sighed. “Thank you for stopping in on such short notice. I suppose I should tell you what this is all about.”

“I’ll save you breath,” Rosa huffed and turned to Koushi. “It’s a terrible idea and I’m not letting you put yourself in danger.”

Koushi frowned. “I can’t decide if it’s a terrible idea when I don’t know what the idea is.”

“He wants to use you like a chunk of meat!”

“Please, let me explain,” Daichi said. His voice was strained though he looked surprisingly calm, especially after Rosa snapping at him...

“You’ve done enough explaining! I will not let you use Suga as bait for a bloodthirsty murderer!”

Koushi leaned over and placed a hand on Rosa’s arm. The women fell back into the chair and turned to him, eyes wide and determined and laced with a fear he had never seen her wear. He gave her a small smile, hoping it was convincing enough, then turned back to the police captain. “Please explain.”

Rosa looked like she was about to speak up, but Koushi gave her a quick look and she closed her mouth, choosing instead to take all her anger out on Koushi’s hand as she gripped it.

Daichi let out a breath. Koushi couldn’t hear it, but he could see it in the captain’s shoulders. The man sat back, looked first at the papers in front of him, and then began, “Since André is the man following you and, according to the hair sample we found, left at least one letter, there’s a greater chance that he was the one who murdered Margaret Emerson and tried to kill you.”

“He is the one,” Koushi said softly and once again all the eyes on him. He squirmed in his seat and clung to Rosa’s hand, suddenly thankful for her deathgrip.

“How do you know?” Tetsurou asked up and Koushi’s shifted to look up at his partner.

Kenma had asked him this question just the other day. Koushi paused for a moment to collect his thoughts then said, “His smile. I remember his smile.”

“Is that enough evidence?” Daichi asked his gaze now on Tooru.

The attorney shrugged. “If the witness can identify the killer and we can find the gun, he’s as good as gone. I’ll make sure of it.”

Daichi nodded but didn’t smile. In fact, no one was smiling Rosa only frowned more and gripped Koushi’s hand tighter. They identified the killer. They probably knew where he was. And yet no one was jumping for joy. No one was thrilled at the prospect of ending this entire case after two impossibly long weeks.

Something stirred in Koushi’s gut. There was a catch. There always was. If he had learned anything in the last eight years it was to never trust initial information. Nothing was ever as it seemed. People were always hiding things.

“What’s the problem then?” Koushi asked, slowly and carefully, his gaze jumping from face to face. He stopped at Daichi. “What do you need to explain? We have him. I can identify him. What’s stopping us?”

The captain closed his eyes for a second and bit at his bottom lip. When he did open his eyes, he didn’t look at Koushi. “We can’t get him. We only have a rough idea of where the White Lilies’ operate, and we don’t know if André is there. The White Lilies don’t know that we are onto them, and it would work to our advantage to keep it that way. Which is why we need to lure André into the open. Have him come to us.”

“And how do you…” Koushi faltered. He looked around the room, at Rosa’s pained and fearful expression, at Tooru who, despite his mask, had a cold and steady gaze, and to Kenma and Tetsurou who watched him with determined faces. To his left, he could hear Keiji shift. Koushi turned back to Daichi. “You want to use me as a bait.”

“Bait is a bit of a strong word…”

“You want me to lure André into the open?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then you want to use me as bait.”

“It’s not like we’re throwing you out in the open alone,” Tetsurou said. “We’ll be with you, even if you can’t see us. Beside’s Tooru needs you in one piece to testify, and Daichi wouldn’t allow anything to happen to you anyway.”

“If you truly feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to do it,” Kenma continued, “but this would be the easiest way to get him and the safest.” Rosa opened her mouth but the small officer nodded and spoke again, “Yes it has its risks, but with a team of professionals those risks are greatly reduced. It’s not any different than what Officer Akaashi does; only instead of being alone you have a full team backing you up.”

“There would be some training,” Tooru said, “but Detective Kuroo is right. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t think you’d be safe.”

Koushi looked around the room again. Kenma and Tetsurou had been nothing short of helpful this past week. Even before this week. As loud as Tetsurou could be and a quiet and shut away as Kenma was, they always looked out for one another, always brought dinner to their coworkers, or friends has it turned out. They helped people for a living. If Tooru agreed with them and trusted them, that had to mean something. Daichi too. His job was to keep the public safe. Koushi met the Captain’s gaze again. This time he didn’t look away, didn’t look flustered. He was determined.

Closing his eyes, Koushi let out a breath. An imagine bubbled up, dark and grimy, like a Polaroid picture that never properly developed. It took a second to focus but when it did Koushi’s chest tightened and his throat closed up. The smile that had haunted him all night returned, but now it was no longer just a smirk behind the barrel of a gun. In the dull light of his mind a face formed, a sharp nose perched between piercing eyes Koushi had been on the receiving end of far too many times.

“When will this to take place?” Keiji’s question forced Koushi’s eyes open. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until he was gasping for one.

“The sooner the better,” Daichi said, eyes lingering on Koushi. He raised an eyebrow, concerned, but Koushi shook his head. “I’d like to have this setup run Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. If nothing happens then, we’ll consider plan B.”

Keiji nodded. “I’d like to help out.”

Daichi frowned. “This isn’t your county, you have no jurisdiction. We could call your Captain, but it might take a bit of convincing and I’m not sure we could get all the paperwork in time.”

“I’d like Keiji to be there,” Koushi said. “For support if nothing else.”

For a while, there hadn’t been much pressure around his hand, but all of a sudden it was back again. Rosa squeezed his fingers, her nails digging into his palm slightly as she pulled him over to look at her. “Don’t agree to this, Tesoro! You’re putting yourself in danger. Mi raccomando, ripensare questo! Per favore.”

“Starò bene,” Koushi mumbled, running his thumb over the back of her hand until the death-grip loosened. “Daichi è un tipo in… uh… gambe, non avrebbe-”

Despite her hardened expression and the worry in her eyes, Rosa chuckled softly, “Gamba non gambe, Tesoro.” She turned, studying the man seated tall behind the desk. She let out a long sigh before scowling. “I will agree with it, as long as he is not in any danger.”

“He won’t be in any danger, I can promise you that,” Daichi said. Koushi watched the Captain’s shoulders fall back slightly, and his demeanor and ruggedness soften. Daichi glanced over and met Koushi’s gaze, throwing in a small smile as he said, “It’s still your decision. You can call this whole thing off. But I want you to know that if you decide to go through with it everyone in this room and outside of this room are here to help you. Nothing can happen.”

“Can Keiji be there?” Koushi asked again.

Daichi turned to Tooru. The attorney tilted his head, tapped his chin, and shrugged. “Getting him assigned to this task would be tricky, but I don’t see why he couldn’t join us if he is off to the side and out of the way.”

“You said you wanted this to take place Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday?” Keiji asked.

“That’s the idea,” Daichi replied

“Weren’t you supposed to fly out Tuesday?”

Keiji turned to Koushi. “I’ll push my flight to Friday evening. The trial was postponed again, so I need to be back in San Diego by Monday at the latest.”

“This is all still your decision. None of this happens without your say so.” Daichi turned to Koushi, eyes softening slightly. “If you don’t want to go through with this you don’t have to. As Officer Kuroo said, we’re not just throwing you out there. You’ll be given some basic training Monday and Tuesday, and when you do go out we won’t be far behind.”

Koushi could feel all the eyes in the room on him again, but he no longer felt the heat of a spotlight or like he was some animal in a cage to be gawked at. He shifted under the attention, heat flooding to his cheeks, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew they were there to help him. All anyone in this room wanted was for this case to be over with, and if this was the fastest way to get André, so be it.

“I’ll do it.”

Tetsurou smiled and Kenma gave a slight nod. Rosa continued to frown, but she closed her eyes, bent her head, and squeezed his hand tighter. When she looked up, she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “Prometti che sarai al sicuro.”

“Sì. I promise.”

Daichi nodded. He was smiling too but when Koushi caught his gaze everything to seemed to pause for a moment. They stayed like that for a few seconds. What Daichi was focused on, Koushi couldn’t really tell. Suddenly the Captain cleared his throat and turned to Tetsurou. “Now that you’ve agreed to this, let’s go over the plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving this coming week and starting orientation next week so I really can't say what's going to happen with the update, it might be on time, it might be late, it might not come at all. I'll have to see what I have time for, sorry.


	18. Investigation - Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update at a random time, but updates are going to look like this for a while until I fall into a routine. For now, enjoy as we move towards the end... of the first half. :) 
> 
> TW: minor violent, thoughts/talk of prostitution

_ Thursday, June 9, 2016 _

_ 3:47 pm _

Two days ago, Koushi had made the mistake of bringing very little to entertain himself with. After learning how to defend himself, he sat out in the park for a few hours. Normally, on Tuesdays he was in the kitchen or behind the host’s table, so the idea of actually getting ahead in school work was a foreign one, and he hadn’t prepared properly.

Yesterday, Koushi had brought a whole host of literature that he needed to read for the English class he was taking at Cal State. He had plowed through the reading and even got a little ahead until he couldn’t bear to look at another word of Faulkner.

Today he balanced his psychology book on one knee and his notes on the other. He had a test on Monday and figured getting ahead would be the way to go. Piled next to him was his French book as well as Faulkner, in case he had the sudden need to read more.

He had stopped at another café for lunch and sat in another spot in the park. Couples walked by and somewhere behind him a little girl’s scream broke into a fit of giggles. He didn’t look up. He hadn’t gotten a lot of training - he still didn’t know how to properly punch much to Lieutenant Iwaizumi’s annoyance - but Koushi had learned that the most important part of this whole thing was acting like no one was watching him. If movement caught his eye he could glance up, anyone would, but he couldn’t look around, he couldn’t wait for someone, he couldn’t be expecting anything.

That’s where his work came in. It allowed him to busy his mind and shut out the world. It allowed him to get ahead, which was, quite frankly, something he hadn’t realized he needed to do for summer courses. He let out a sigh and sat up, twisting one way then the other to crack his back. Sitting for long hours wasn’t something he had experienced since college, and Koushi realized quickly it wasn’t something he missed all that much. He liked moving around, being active, or as active as walking from table to table and standing in the kitchen could be. If his body was moving, his mind would too, and any thoughts of the past would come and go without lingering for too long.

Sitting now, settled his mind and allowed his thoughts to swarm and organize. With nothing else to think about or concentrate on, his mind wandered. If he zoned out for too long then closed his eyes, the only thing he could see was a dark shadow, a smile, and the glint of a gun. Something crashed and kid screamed. Koushi sat up, nearly jumping to his feet.  Slumping back against the tree he had settled under, he took a few steadying breaths and. He pushed a strand of hair from his face, and his thumb brushing against the little earpiece that connected him to four people. His lifelines. He wouldn’t be doing this without them. 

Koushi sighed and looked at his book then at the watch on his wrist. It was barely four o’clock. He had an hour and a half left of sitting and waiting. If nothing happened in four hours, nothing would happen in one and a half. Koushi nestled back against the tree and turned to the next page of his book.

 

* * *

 

Daichi was back in the office. As much as he would have liked to be out with Chikara and Ryu, keeping an eye on Suga, there was a job that needed to be done. Murders didn’t stop because the police had another assignment to focus on. There were still suspects to question, witnesses to interview, clues and pieces to put together, and on top of all that one grouchy district attorney to watch over.

Tooru was becoming more disheveled by the day and grumpier by the minute if that was possible. He was most likely running on only a few hours of sleep, but no matter how much Daichi asked him to sit out and stop moving for just one minute, he never agreed. He was always doing something, making a call, practicing an opening, rewriting a direct or a cross. It would have driven Daichi nuts if he wasn’t used to it. Powerless to do anything, Daichi simply made more frequent coffee runs, and left extra food and water bottles around the office. If Tooru noticed anything, he never said a word, and Daichi didn’t expect him to. He was just happy that some of the food was eaten and most of the water was gone by the afternoon.

Because of Tooru’s temper and the cases they had to deal with, Daichi stayed back and headquarters with Yuu, Tobio, Kei, and Tadashi. Hajime, Chikara, and Ryu were out dealing with Suga’s case and Daichi would have joined them, but he couldn’t let Yuu and Tobio bother Tooru, and with Hajime out, Daichi was the only one left to calm the lawyer down. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the others, so much as he didn’t need Tooru pissing them off. Because of that, Daichi became the barrier for his co-workers and the verbal punching bag for a certain attorney. Not like he cared all that much. He dealt with worse on a near daily basis.

He should have had Hajime stay back as well. The lieutenant always knew how to deal with Tooru’s tantrums. But Daichi needed at least one senior officer out handling Suga’s case, and while Chikara was a hard worker and a competent officer, Hajime was a fast thinker and had the experience to back it up.

It was after four when Daichi wandered back into his office, more paperwork in hand. He had left Tooru fuming in one of the conference rooms. Why? He didn’t know, and he wasn’t going to ask. Yet. He’d inquire later and Tooru would tell him, or yell at him, or do some combination of the two.

Daichi plopped down, setting the papers beside his laptop that he opened with a sad groan. Why did humans feel it necessary to take out their anger on other people? Daichi wondered that a lot. And why did they always do it in such outwardly violent and illegal ways? There were other methods to deal with anger, most of which were a lot less destructive. He flipped through the first pages of the statement and skimmed the rest before filing it away to be looked at later.

He flipped open his laptop and unlocked it just as his phone began to buzz and beep. It took him a second to find it, somehow his phone ended up half buried under some papers. Something in his chest tightened when he saw who was calling. Frowning at the name he answered it. “What is it Hajime?”

“We think we found André,” Hajime replied without missing a beat.

Daichi blinked. “What?”

“We haven’t confirmed it yet, we still need to get a look at his face, but he’s wearing the same hoodie and he’s tall with dark hair. He’s been hanging around the corner of the park where Suga’s been for the last… hour or so? We didn’t think much of it, but when we had Suga move to the other end of the park, he followed. He hasn’t tried anything yet, but we don’t want to wait too long.”

Daichi let out a long breath. He didn’t actually think that their plan would work, but here they were. They couldn’t get ahead of themselves. A lot of things could go wrong if they weren’t careful, but they were close. So very close.

“Do you want us to clear out the park?”

“No,” Daichi said after a quick pause to think. “We can’t risk tipping him off. Just keep track of civilians and make sure that when you do approach they’re not nearby. Move them only if we confirm that he’s armed.”

“And Suga?”

“Move him after we’ve made the approach, I don’t want our potential suspect to get suspicious or have any reason to approach Suga sooner.” Daichi was up and by the door, keys in hand before he even realized it. “I’m heading over soon. For now, move as you see fit. If he’s armed, get Suga and anyone other civilians out. Keep SOB on stand by. Don’t move them in too early.”

“Got it, Captain.”

“Take care, Hajime. I’ll be over as soon as possible.”

With a click, the call ended and Daichi started down towards the conference room. He opened the door to find Tooru practicing his opening yet again. The lawyer stopped abruptly and shot a glare that could have murdered five. Daichi held up his hand in hopes that Tooru wouldn’t say anything. The lawyer didn’t only bit down on his words and frowned.

“They found André. I’m gonna head down there to make sure everything’s running smoothly. When I come back, hopefully you’ll have someone else to prosecute.”

Tooru snorted and Daichi studied his face for a second. Impassive and seemingly unimpressed, though he had to be a little proud. With a nod, Daichi turned and left the room. He passed the main office, waving to Tobio and Yuu as he walked by and headed for the elevators, trying to ignore the bubbling in his chest and the energy that pounded through him. Now wasn’t the time to get ahead of himself. They had only found the guy. They still had to catch him.

 

* * *

 

When Kenma had asked him to move, Koushi had been thankful. It was an excuse to stand up, crack his back, and stretch his limbs. He took in the park, took in the sights, and tried to look around without seeming like he was looking for anyone or anything in particular. Part of him hoped he’d catch Kenma, or Tetsurou, or Keiji in the corner of his eye. Maybe even Daichi.

But Kenma and Tetsurou were stationed half a block down and he didn’t know where Keiji or Daichi was. He was connected to Keiji through the device in his ear, and when the other end was activated, Keiji could talk to him. But that was limited. It was only for certain situation, or so one of the SOB captains had told him.

This wasn’t an emergency, this was Kenma telling him to move, slowly and easily to the other side of the park to sit on the concrete bench that was off the sidewalk and to the left. So he walked, slowly and seemingly without a purpose, trying to look nonchalant. There weren’t many people to look at anyway: a group of kids on the play set, a few couples both young and old, a few singles meandering down the paths and through the trees.

Eventually, he found the bench Kenma had mentioned and plopped down. Instead of getting right back into work, Koushi sat back, looked at the cloudless sky and admired the park. It wasn’t one he’d ever been to before, too far south to make it convenient. It wasn’t like he went to places very often anyway. He was busy in the restaurant and had no reason to leave. Sure he left to go shopping or for class but he never really  _ went _ anywhere.

Shouyou had tried to drag him to play volleyball with some of the guys, but the very thought had Koushi shaking and sweating. Volleyball was a thing of the past. Asahi had taken him to a few museums, which Koushi did enjoy, though he’d never felt comfortable. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that L.A. had never been comfortable for him. Five years later and every time he walked around at night he could only think about the smiles and the hands, and the thick smell of weed and tobacco and sex. The smell of sex never quite went away, it’s pungent sweetness hung in the air like the smog downtown, and warped around his body like a Santa Ana wind.

Swallowing hard to avoid a bitter taste, Koushi pulled out his Faulkner book. Part of him had been expecting Kenma to contact him again, maybe explain what was going on. But nothing played in his ear, so he decided to settle down and read in order to tame his mind.

Twenty-something minutes later and Koushi had lost himself in complex sentences and ridiculous words that had him wishing he’d brought a dictionary. The text was dense, yes, but it made him think and forced him to concentrate on something that wasn’t the city that seemed to hate him. He was half way through a chapter when something buzzed and pinged in his left ear, and he struggled not to jump out of his seat.

“Suga, it’s me,” Kenma’s voice was softer than usual. He was whispering into his own earpiece. “I just wanted to let you know that we found André. We’re tracking him now.”

Koushi’s mouth went dry. He gripped the sides of his book to keep it in his lap. André was here, following him. Waiting. For what? Koushi could only guess.  It made his throat close up, his chest tighten, and if it wasn’t for the distant laughter children, Koushi was sure that his heart would be the loudest thing in the park.

André was here. He was going to be caught.

How? Where? When? The questions bubbled, but instead of opening his mouth Koushi turned the page despite having not looked at another word. The main rule of the earpiece: no talking back unless it was an emergency.

“For now,” Kenma continued as if reading into the silence. “Stay where you are. A few of us will pick you up when it’s time.”

Koushi almost nodded, but instead coughed into the crook of his arm and turned the page again. He waited for something more from Kenma. Anything more, but when no more words came, and the other end of the line went dead, he turned his attention to reading, skimming the words, picking up nothing as he did so.

Time slipped by in a matter of minutes or a matter of hours. The children on the other end of the park fell silent. They probably left altogether. The older couples were replaced with younger people, most of whom walked with a purpose, never stopping to look at the trees or admire the flowers, a rarity in this part of Southern California.

Koushi watched a woman walk by, arms covered in bags, a purse thrown over her shoulder. He wanted to walk up and help her. It looked like her arms were hurting, or at least he imagined them to be. But he was forced to stay in his seat and just watch as she trudged past, chin up, eyes focused on something ahead that Koushi wished he could see, wished he could strive for.

A shadow passed over him and Koushi looked up to find two men looking down at him. One had a hood pulled up, the other had a dark leather jacket and a baseball cap to shadow features. Baseball was young, older than Koushi but not too much older than Daichi. He had a scar on the corner of his lip and there was a shine to his eyes that took Koushi back to his days on the streets and his nights in someone’s arms.

Slowly, Koushi turned his attention back to his book.

“Koushi Sugawara.” Koushi looked up again, his fingers digging into the sides of his book. He didn’t speak, only watched with a hazy confusion as the stranger leaned forward and brushed a strand of hair from his face. For a second Koushi thought he would throw up, then he thought he would throw a punch – the kind Hajime had tried to teach him. But those thoughts flew out the window a second later when the man’s hand was gone, and with it, the earpiece that had been so neatly tucked away.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Come with us.”

The man reached forward to grab his arm but Koushi pulled away and looked between Baseball Cap and Hoodie. “Who are you?”

“Police,” Baseball Cap responded. “We’re here to pick you.”

“Oh.” Koushi looked them over again. Kenma had said that some guys would come and pick him up but he had thought they’d at least look like officers. He supposed that they must be under cover. They were doing a good job of it, certainly had Koushi fooled.

Baseball Cap reached forward again, and Koushi flinched away for the second time. “I can grab my stuff myself,” he mumbled.

Koushi packed slowly, he could see the impatient looks Baseball Cap and Hoodie exchanged. When Hoodie turned, the light was such that Koushi could sneak a peek at the olive skin and dark stubble on his chin. As Hoodie turned back, Koushi caught the hint of a growing smirk and froze, heart pounding and chest constricting around his lungs.

“Ready?” Baseball asked.

Clearing his throat and opening his lungs with a cough, Koushi zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulders. He let out a strangled breath and nodded. He expected both of them to turn and walk, but when Baseball Cap started off Hoodie didn’t follow. Koushi stared at him for a few seconds, and Hoodie stared back, never quite meeting Koushi’s gaze

“You comin’?” Baseball Cap snapped.

“Yes. Sorry.” Koushi turned and began to trail Baseball Cap. Hoodie fell into step behind Koushi. “I don’t believe I caught your names.”

“Not important,” was Baseball Cap’s response.

Koushi frowned and stopped in the middle of the path. “Who are you with?”

Baseball Cap looked back over his shoulder. “The police.”

“I thought SOB was in charge of this,” Koushi huffed. The tightness in his chest was back and his stomach began to twist. “Everyone I talked to was from SOB.”

“They asked us for some help. Now stop talkin’ and get movin’, we don’t got all day.”

With Baseball Cap’s eyes still on him, Koushi huffed and let his shoulders fall back. He took a step forward. “Fine.”

Baseball Cap turned around and started walking, one step, two steps, three steps. When there was space between them, Koushi turned and bolted. He didn’t make it more than ten feet when something tugged at his shit and he stumbled back. He let this bag slip off of his shoulder and took three more steps when a hand latched onto his wrist and stayed there. Koushi pulled and twisted and turned, arm raised and fist clenched for a punch when he stopped. Dark eyes met his own and the rest of the air left Koushi’s lungs. His body froze.

The gray hoodie had fallen back, and a man only a few years older stood before him. His hair was dark, disheveled, he had bags under his wild eyes, and a familiar smirk crossed his lips.

Panic bubbled up in Koushi’s throat, the world spun and the park dropped away. He struggled, pulled, yanked, twisted, tried to kick. Then opened his mouth, sound bubbling up. A rough hand covered his mouth and the hand from his wrist slipped. A second later something cold and circular prodded his side

“You scream and a bullet goes through your side and then your head.” André’s breath was hot against Koushi’s ear and smelled strongly of marijuana and alcohol.

Koushi gagged against André’s hand.

“You’re goin’ to walk calmly with us, okay? You’re not gonna to scream. You’re not gonna to talk. And you’re not gonna run. Yes?”

Koushi whimpered as the barrel of the gun slipped under his shirt and traced cold circles just above his hip.

“Was that a yes?”

Koushi swallowed down the bitterness and tried to breathe through his nose. He was sure he was going to be sick.

The gun stopped and dug into his side once more. “Was that a yes?”

Koushi nodded.

“Good.” The hand dropped away from his mouth and clamped back around his wrist. André took a step back, letting the gun fall back out of sight into the pocket of his jacket and smiled. “Let’s take a walk, Koushi. We’ve gotta lot of catchin’ up to do.”


	19. Investigation - Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, the day got away from me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, yes, that is a number count. There will be an end to this story, it just... a bit farther away.
> 
> TW: threats, mild violence, death

_Thursday, June 9, 2016_

_4:23 pm_

Daichi found a red zone to park in just as Kenma muttered over the radio that everyone was in places. “Hold on for another minute, I just arrived.”

Plucking the radio from his dashboard, he clipped it to his belt and slipped out of the car, closing the door and locking it a second later. The streets around this half of the park were blocked off with bright orange construction signs that Daichi walked through with ease. He moved with a purpose, hoping not to draw too much attention. He was just a man in a suit with places to be.

“Detective Kozume, are you there?” A soft voice asked from the radio. It didn’t sound like anyone Daichi recognized until he realized that it was Officer Akaashi.

“I am,” came Kenma’s short reply.

“I was trying to get in contact with Koushi but I can’t. It seems like the Bluetooth is down on his side, was that on purpose?”

“What? No.” There was a pause and then a huff. “I can’t reach him either.”

Daichi found himself walking a little faster as he picked up the radio and held it to his mouth. “This is Daichi, what’s the problem?”

“We can’t reach Suga,” Kenma said, his voice monotone but the stress behind it was clear.

“He’s moving,” Keiji said a moment later.

Daichi frowned. “What? Why is he moving? He should stay in place until we pick him up.”

“He’s moving towards the south side of the park. It looks like there’s someone with him.”

“Isn’t that opposite of where you all are?” Daichi asked. “You cornered André on the north side of the park, right?”

“Shit.” Kenma was so quiet, Daichi almost thought that he missed heard him, or that it was someone else in the background. “He’s not André.”

Daichi stopped at a street corner and frowned, glaring at the light post across from him as though it would give him the answers he wanted. “Kenma, what are you-”

“The man we cornered isn’t André.”

“Can you be sure?” Keiji asked, his voice was broken over the sound of the radio, but it wasn’t hard to miss his worry that laced his words.

“He pulled back his hood. Daichi, he’s a teenager. We cornered a kid.”

“Then that means…” Daichi thought back to what Keiji just said. Koushi moving north, his earpiece unconnected, no one able to get in touch. Daichi’s stomach dropped and the moment the light flashed green he was across the street and heading north. “Our suspect is moving north with our witness. Kenma, pull everyone you can and get to the other side of the park. Start blocking off those streets. The minute they step into a car we’re done for. Officer Akaashi, you’re close. Do what you can but don’t approach or contact them. Do you understand?”

He didn’t get a response, but he assumed Keiji had heard him. Keiji was an officer, he knew the protocol. Daichi clipped the radio back to his belt, felt to make sure his gun was still there, and then broke into a run. The radio hummed with life. Kenma, Tetsurou and a few others gave orders and spewed locations and directions. Daichi would get there before the rest of them.

He had thrown on a bulletproof vest in the car, but he still felt exposed as he turned and raced down the pathways of the park.

“There’s two of them,” Keiji’s voice cracked over the radio and Daichi found himself slowing down and reaching for the small black box at his belt as Keiji continued. “There are two men with Koushi. I have reason to believe that both are armed.”

“Whatever you do, do not approach,” Daichi said into the radio. “I’ll be there in a moment. Detective Kozume, where are you?”

“Heading south,” replied the SOB agent “We sent some cars ahead, they should be blockading off the roads as we speak.”

With a huff, Daichi clipped the radio back to his belt and looked up. Three figures were walking calmly but confidently ahead. Daichi could tell that Suga was the one in the middle. Even from the back he looked stiff and every few steps the hooded man to his left would prod him in the back. They were approaching the street, which according to Kenma was already blocked off, though it was impossible to tell. Keiji was in the area somewhere, but Daichi couldn’t see him and didn’t bother to continue looking. It was better for the other man to remain unseen anyway.

Walking forward, he took in a breath. He had to hold them off, or at least slow them down until they could think of what to do. Daichi pulled the gun from the holster at his hip, let out an exhale, and flipped off the safety. Squaring his shoulder he raised the gun. “LAPD stop walking and step away from the young man.”

The three figures froze and Suga spun around. Even from the distance, Daichi was at he could see just how pale Suga was. The younger man stood with wide, but relieved eyes. He took a step forward just as a hand slid around his waist and held him in place. In a second, Suga’s expression turned from relief mixed with panic to unfocused anxiety.

The man next to Suga, pulled a handgun from the pocket of his hoodie and raised it, placing it against Suga’s temple. “Another step and I blow through his head.”

Daichi stopped, the grip on his gun faltering. Behind him, he heard footsteps. Keeping his eyes on the two men and Suga he lifted his hand. “Everyone, stop and stay where you are.” He couldn’t see them, but they were some distance behind him. None of them were close enough for a clean shot.

Daichi watched the man in the gray hoodie. He was taller than Suga, dark hair messy and wild. Upon meeting Daichi’s gaze the man’s lips curved into a glowing smirk. Daichi’s chest tightened. The muscles in his legs turned stiff as adrenaline and heart pounded through his body. It was André.

Daichi raised his gun. André made a show of prodding Suga in the side of the head. “Do you want me to blow his pretty little head off?”

Suga paled. He didn’t move, only looked ahead, his gaze unfocused.

A single shot to the head could end it all, but there was the problem of the second men. He stood off to the side, scanning the crowd around them, hands hidden in the pocket of his jacket.

“Give up, you’re surrounded,” Daichi said.

The second man turned to André and said something. André’s smirk slipped from his face.

Daichi raised his gun again and let out a breath. His eyes focused in on André’s head. His finger hovered over the trigger. He took a steadying breath just as a shot rang out over the park. There was a second when everything was quiet, then suddenly André collapsed beside Suga, his gun clattering to the ground.

Everyone froze. The shifting behind him quieted. Daichi’s own heart seemed to slow and his eyes dropped to André, now lying at Suga’s feet. Movement danced in the corner of his eye and Daichi’s eyes snapped to the other man in the baseball cap. He was running. Pocketing his own gun, Daichi started towards him and the world snapped back in place.

Ahead of him, Tetsurou came out from the trees. There was a moment when two bodies collided into each other with a thud, and then both Tetsurou and the man were on the ground. A gun skidded across the concrete and stopped when it collided with Daichi’s foot. He reached down for it then stopped and looked around for someone with gloves.

Officers swarmed the area, some heading towards André’s body, some helping Tetsurou calm and cuff the man writhing on the ground, and others beginning to quarter the area. Looking down at the gun by his feet, Daichi waved Chikara over. “Find a pair of gloves an evidence bag, we have some guns to pick up.”

Chikara nodded, and Daichi turned back to Tetsurou who was stepping back as the man in the baseball was pulled up from the ground, hands locked behind his back.

“Well,” Tetsurou sighed, “at least we got one.”

“Yeah.” Daichi watched two officers drag the man away. “That was a good shot back there.”

“What?”

Daichi frowned, his eyes snapped back to the body, sprawled across the concrete. “You didn’t shoot André?”

“I thought you did.”

Daichi turned and looked over the crowd. Off to the side, he could just make out Suga, seated on a ledge. Besides him was Officer Akaashi, resting his hand on Suga’s shoulder.

“Was Officer Akaashi near you during the standoff?” Daichi asked.

“I didn’t see him,” Tetsurou said after a moment’s pause.

The younger officer looked up and met Daichi’s gaze. He said something to Suga, squeezed his shoulder, and walked over to Daichi and Tetsurou.

“How’s Suga?” Daichi asked once the officer was standing before him.

“Shaken,” Officer Akaashi replied. He looked between Daichi and Tetsurou, his expression blank but his eyes observant and patient. He was waiting. When no one said anything, Keiji swallowed and met Daichi’s gaze. “I shot him. I shot André Komi.”

Tetsurou froze, while Daichi nodded. “I figured. Are you-”

“Why the hell did you do that?” Tetsurou snapped, taking a step towards the younger officer. “You weren’t supposed to get involved.”

Keiji met Tetsurou’s gaze with an even stare. “Koushi was being threatened.”

Tetsurou frowned. “You should have let one of us handle it.”

“Neither of you had a clear shot. I did.”

Tetsurou threw his hand up. “That doesn’t mean-!”

“Tetsu,” Daichi said, resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“He just made our lives harder, Dai. He made his own life harder! He had no jurisdiction, and he interfered with a police operation that could have gotten himself or someone else hurt, or worse. He could lose his job!” Tetsurou turned on Keiji. “Hell, if someone’s life hadn’t clearly been at risk, he could be arrested and prosecuted for manslaughter or at least blatant disregard of another person’s life.”

Keiji stayed quiet, gaze focused on Tetsurou. When the detective took a break, Office Akaashi shrugged and said, “It’s imperfect defense of another.”

Daichi opened his mouth, but what could he say. Keiji had just killed someone, but he wasn’t wrong. It was a classic case of imperfect defense, nothing else would have saved Suga.

Tetsurou looked about three seconds away from raising his fist against Officer Akaashi. Instead, he took a breath and turned. “Follow me, let’s get your statement written up,” he muttered and started through the crowd. Daichi watched Officer Akaashi follow without another word.

Daichi scanned the scene again, his eyes lingering on Suga.

“What our next step, Captain?” Ryu’s question echoed somewhere to Daichi's right.

“Get a write up started, and make sure Chikara takes the guns to ballistics for testing.” Daichi’s eyes wandered over to where André’s body lay crumpled on the sidewalk. At least they knew he wouldn’t be causing any more harm to Suga or anyone else. “Have Hajime take our new friend back for questioning, then get ready for a press statement. I think it’s safe to say that we’re done here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's occurred to me that if anyone wants to get in touch or ask any questions I'm SkieNight (or @gcstryker) on twitter as well.


	20. Investigation - Chapter Ninteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the official end of part one! I'm actually completely done with part two so I'll start updating immediately. Updates will continue to be late/random as college is weird and I'm still learning how to schedule. Hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> TW: mentions of forced prostitution

_Wednesday, June 15, 2016_

_4:05 pm_

The restaurant was busy, despite it being that awkward time before dinner but after lunch, when kids were getting home from school and people were wrapping up work. Koushi paused in the doorway and glanced around. Patrons were seated at about a third of the tables, so the restaurant wasn’t full, but still busy for the time of day.

As he walked by the host and hostess table, he greeted the people there with a smile and a wave. Some people wished him a belated happy birthday, and Koushi made sure to thank them with both words and a smile, but he made sure not to hang around for too long.

Two days ago, after denying the day off Rosa had tried to give him, Koushi came downstairs to find his coworkers waiting, cake and presents in hand. They had tried to drag him out for drinks, but it just ended with everyone piled in Rosa’s apartment above the restaurant playing board games and card games. It felt normal. Almost. They stayed until one or two in the morning until Koushi finally took it upon himself to give them the ultimatum: leave or sleep. Needless to say, Rosa’s apartment did not house six adults comfortably, but they made it work.

Once the last of the belated happy birthdays were passed around, Koushi wove through the tables, greeting a few of the patrons he knew by face, before vanishing behind the “employees only” door. He walked towards the stairwell when someone grabbed his arm.

Gasping, Koushi yanked his arm free and spun around, drawing in on himself. A wide-eyed and very startled Shouyou stared up at him. Koushi cursed himself for jumping then, remembering what Dr. Bukoto said about blaming himself for things out of his control, let out a breath.

“You startled me,” he said, cutting himself off before he could apologize further.

“Sorry about that.” Shouyou frowned for a second, then beamed again. “Just wanted to say hi.”

“I’ll see you in an hour,” Koushi replied, “Unless you’re not on taking the evening shift tonight.”

“I am.” Of course, he was, even if he had been working all day. Koushi couldn’t really talk, though, as he did the same thing. “How was your session?”

Always right to the point. Despite the younger boy being a bit spacey at times and a terrible klutz other times, he knew what to say to someone. He knew how to make them smile. He knew how to show that he cared.

Koushi hadn’t even told Shouyou about the therapy session he had started attending once a week. He’d just left his phone at the host table one day, and Shouyou picked it up right as Dr. Bokuto had texted him, confirming their appointment. At first, Koushi wasn’t sure how to feel, but Shouyou hadn’t told a soul and only asked about them in private. Honestly, it was nice for someone to ask because even Rosa tried to stay away from the subject.

“Better,” was Koushi’s reply. They still weren’t good. Koushi wasn’t sure they would ever be good, but each one was better than the last. He stopped bawling every time he so much as mentioned Yui, though he still panicked whenever he thought of André and the hand on his waist and the gun to his head.

Koushi took a quick breath and pulled himself back into the moment. It was about being present, now was not the time to think of the past. “How’s Natsu?”

Shouyou’s face lit up and his expression softened in a way that only an older brothers could. “Her migraines are gone, but the new medicine makes her sleepy and she’s lost most of her appetite.”

“I’m glad she’s doing a little better,” Koushi replied.

Shouyou nodded and opened his mouth when the door that led to the restaurant opened and a young woman with dyed hair pulled back into a ponytail peered in. “Shouyou, help clear table five and then set table thirteen.”

The door clicked closed again and Shouyou groaned, and Koushi tried not to laugh. “You should go, you know how Angie gets. I’ll see you in a few.”

“Yeah, see you soon.”

Shouyou turned and vanished back into the restaurant, while Koushi started up the stairs. He was halfway to the apartment when the phone in his jacket pocket buzzed. Pulling out his phone, Koushi glanced at the name and let himself into the apartment, closing the door before answer it.

“Tooru?”

“Do you have a few minutes?”

Koushi glanced at the clock that hung off to the side of the bookshelf. He had roughly forty-five minutes before he was needed downstairs. “I do,” he responded as he dropped down onto the couch.

“Wonderful.” Koushi could hear the bright smile in the attorney’s voice, even if it was forced. “We had the preliminary hearing. We weren’t able to resolve it, so we’ll be going to trial.”

Koushi nodded, though there was no one to see him, and pulled his legs up to his chest to wrap his arm around his knees. He hadn’t even noticed the breath he was holding until he went to talk. “What does that mean?”

“We’ll be meeting more in order to go over your testimony, and I’ll begin to prep you for court. They’ll probably be some more waiting because the defense is going to try to bring forward another pretrial motion to dismiss the case or withdraw some evidence or maybe try and strike your testimony, we’ll see. But there will be at least one or two more hearings before we begin trial.”

“How long will all that take?” Koushi asked, tracing the pattern of the stitches in his jeans.

“All this should happen within the next sixty days, though it could be extended. It all depends.”

“It all depends,” Koushi parroted. He’d been hearing a lot of that from Tooru. It all depends. The next move depends on the outcome of the last move, etcetera, etcetera. Koushi sighed, there was no use asking. All this legal stuff confused him. It was hard to follow, harder know what the next step was, and nearly impossible to understand what Tooru was thinking.

“Any final questions?” The attorney asked.

Koushi glanced to the clock. There had been one question plaguing his mind all day. He hadn’t even mentioned it in therapy. “What happened with Keiji?”

The other end of the line was silent for a second, then Tooru let out a sigh. “They dropped the charge, obviously case there was no case to begin with, but I can’t imagine his boss is very happy with him. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

Koushi sighed and settled back into the couch. Tooru was right, he should just call Keiji, but what could Koushi even say? Keiji had been the one to shoot André. Koushi hadn’t realized that at first, because after the shot fired everyone ran and yelled and moved. Koushi didn’t remember a whole lot of what happened immediately, just the movement, and the sound of his own heart in his ears, and feeling as though the word was spinning under and around him while he stood perfectly still. Keiji had been there. And then he hadn’t. He’d vanished, and it was only a few hours later that Koushi learned what had happened, that his friend - best friend? - had shot the man who’d been trying to kill Koushi. It had been weeks and that though still hadn’t properly processed.

“I will, I will,” Koushi said after a moment. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Tooru said, “Is there anything else you want to know?”

Koushi sighed and glanced at the clock again. He had to go if he wanted to shower before heading down for work. “Not right now. I need to go. I…  we can talk later. Thank you for keeping me updated.”

“It’s nothing,” Tooru’s voice softened. “Have a good evening.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Koushi hung up and let his phone flop onto the couch. He was staring at the wall, as though searching for an answer or a clear though in the textured paint when faint footsteps sounded from behind him.

Rosa sat herself on the couch to his right. “I thought I heard you talking with someone.”

“Tooru,” Koushi answered. Rosa smiled softly, though her eyes were a reflection of the pain that lingered in Koushi’s chest. There was no doubt that she had witnessed a number of the panic attacks he’d had over the last two weeks, or at least heard him crying or screaming in the middle of the night. She never said anything about them. She never brought up the fact that Koushi had reverted almost completely back to the young man whom Rosa had first found.

But he wasn’t that person, Bokuto made sure to remind him of that and now he had to remind himself of the same thing. He wasn’t the same person, nor was he a different person from whom he had been almost eight years ago. Koushi Sugawara was the same, just changed by time and circumstances, same as anyone else. Only his circumstances were harsher, and his change more drastic. But he was the same person. Suga and Koushi were the same person. One was not a lie and the other was not the truth. They just were, and if Koushi could find a balance between them maybe he would finally sleep at night.

Koushi let out a breath and glanced to Rosa. “After closing today, can we talk?”

“About what, we already talk?” She asked lightly, almost jokingly. Then seeming to sense the shift in the air added. “What do you need, mio tesoro?”

Happy to leave the conversation where it was and pick up later, Koushi rose. “We’ll talk about it after the restaurant closes. I don’t want to distract you.”

“Fine.” She huffed as she stood and smiled at him. “Ti voglio bene, Suga.” She stood on her toes and kiss his cheek. She’d been a lot more open about her affection since he returned from the SOB operation He couldn’t blame her. Since the operation, he had found himself thanking her every chance he could, for anything, everything.

Koushi smiled as she walked towards the front door. “Ti voglio bene, Rosa.”

Shouyou was the last one to leave that evening after cleaning some spills and helping Rosa box leftover over food. She did this every night, and either sent the leftovers away with employees or people she found in the side alley or on the street corner. On time, Koushi jokingly asked if she was considering picking any other tired-looking young men off the street. She told him that she would, if she had the space. Instead, all she could do was pass out hot meals and pray they found a safe place to sleep.

Once the last of the leftovers were gone, and Shouyou was on his way home, Koushi forced himself up the stairs and stank down on the couch. Rosa sat beside him, passing him a cup of tea. It was late, but it was now or never. Besides, Dr. Bokuto had said something about it being easier to have these conversations in the evening, when he was tired and his guard was lowered naturally by exhaustion. Of course, as Koushi watched Rosa, he couldn’t help but feel more guarded and more on edge than before.

“What do you want to talk about?” Rosa asked lightly. All throughout work Koushi had been able to tell she’d been thinking about it. It was the way she watched him, as though trying to discern his thoughts through his interactions with customers.

Koushi let out a sigh. “When you first picked me up and asked me what happened. I… I didn’t tell you everything and what I did tell you-” His voice broke, and he took a sip of tea to soothe it. “What I did tell you wasn’t the full truth.”

Rosa had been nodding before, but when Koushi glanced at her the second time she sat straight and was perfectly still, watching him with kind and open eyes. She was ready to hear what he had to say. She probably had been for the last five years.

Koushi looked down into his cup. “I th-think I should start from the beginning. When you found me I said my name was Suga Michimiya and that I had lost my job and was living on the streets. That was a lie.” Koushi let out a breath. “My name is Koushi Sugawara, and the night you found me I was running away from a pimp.”


	21. Trial - Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kicking off Part 2 with a long chapter. I'm gonna try and keep everything as together as possible just to keep this moving, but we'll see how that goes. Please note, there is a time jump from the end of the last chapter until this one (about three weeks, give or take). I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> TW: mentions of forced prostitution, general paranoia/anxiety

_Tuesday, June 21, 2016_

_8:07 am_

Koushi slid into a chair in the far corner of the coffee shop. From this perch, he could see everything. At his right shoulder was a window; a few people were eating outside under the umbrellas, tucked away from the L.A. sun. Over his left shoulder, the baristas were working hard behind the counter. Extended out ahead of him was the entirety of the café and, most importantly, the door. He could watch people leave and enter as much as he pleased.

It had been almost a month since everything fell apart, and Koushi found himself jumpy most days. Dr. Bokuto assured him that it was all part of the healing process and that the stress and anxiety were normal. He had even tried to get Koushi to sign for some medication to keep his heart rate in check and his mind clear. But Koushi denied the prescription. He’d made it eight years without meds. He could go another year or two or three or however many were needed until his damn head cleared up and the fear finally washed away.

The door jingled and Koushi blinked back into reality. A tall man strolled in, met Koushi’s gaze, and tossed him a dazzling smile. Koushi nodded in return and settled back in his chair. A minute later, Tooru was sliding into the seat across from him.

“Sorry for being late,” the lawyer said, “traffic was… well, the usual. I hope you weren’t waiting for long.”

Koushi shook his head. “I wasn’t.”

“Good,” Tooru bent down over his briefcase and pulled out a manila folder that sent a shiver down Koushi’s spine and caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise. His reactions had become more controlled when he was tucked away at home or in Tooru’s office. But they were in public. Anyone could look over Tooru’s shoulder as they passed by to get their drinks. All it took was one word and they could piece together parts of Koushi’s life he didn’t even feel comfortable thinking, much less speaking, about.

As if reading his mind, Tooru leaned forward, setting his arms over the folder. “How are you, Koushi?”

Taking a deep breath, Koushi tried to clear his thoughts and settle the pounding of his heart. It was only a name, and he’d be hearing it a lot more these coming months, as Tooru reminded him constantly. He’d need to get over it. It was only a name.

“I’m-”

“Espresso macchiato for Suga.”

“-fine.” He rose slowly and crossed the six feet of space to grab his drink before settling back down at the table, thankful to have something to do with his hands other than pick at his nails. “How are you?”

“Getting by,” Tooru said then looked up as his name was called. Koushi watched the lawyer stand and leave the folder unprotected. There was part of Koushi that wanted to reach out, snag the file, then rip it to shreds or burn it. But Tooru would be back in a minute, and Koushi couldn’t even bring himself to touch the envelope.

When Tooru sat back down, Koushi got it in him to ask, “what do you want to talk about?”

The lawyer took a sip of his drink, before setting it down and settling his folded hands over the file once more. “Am I not allowed to grab a coffee with a friend?” When Koushi didn’t reply, Tooru continued, “I just want to see how you’re doing and get a feel for when you want to take the next step. We already have your statement,” Tooru tapped the manila folder twice, “but we need to talk it through so that you can get more comfortable with the material.”

Koushi tried to follow Tooru’s words, he really did, but he always found himself sitting back and letting them go in one ear and out the other. Tooru spoke so casually about the entire process. As if it wasn’t that big of a deal. As if this wasn’t going to change Koushi’s life as if this whole mess hadn’t done so already.

“We have over a month, so we can talk about that later,” Tooru said slowly his gaze running across Koushi’s face. His expression was one Koushi was sure he’d never get used to: calculating, cold, like a machine trying to process every line in Koushi’s forehead. “I wanted to talk to you a little about where we are and what the plan is for trial.”

“Right,” Koushi muttered. “How are you doing on that whole… before-trial-movement-thing?”

“Pretrial motion?” Tooru sighed. “The hearing for the next one is set in two weeks. I can’t promise this will be the last one. The defense lawyer, he’s… _persistent_.” Koushi didn’t miss the bitterness laced in Tooru’s words. “But I promise you, I won’t let this case get thrown out. We just have to hold out until they run out of arguments, then the fun part starts.”

Koushi frowned. “The fun part? Right…”

“Which is why we need to practice,” Tooru said, leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of his coffee.

Looking down at his own drink, Koushi sloshed it around in the cup but didn’t bother to drink it. “Why do we need to practice?”

The more they spoke the less Koushi was sure he knew about how trials worked. He’d thought that he was well versed in the justice system. He’d gotten his information from books, not television shows. But as it turned out, everything was infinitely more complicated, or maybe Tooru just made it feel like it was.

“We need to practice because you need to learn how to be a witness,” Tooru replied simply.

Koushi frowned. This was starting to sound like an acting role in one of the crappy television shows that Shouyou watched. “I need to learn how to be a witness?”

“Yes,” Tooru didn’t miss a beat, “Especially because of Daishou.”

“That’s the defense lawyer, right?”

Tooru grimaced. “Unfortunately. He can turn the best witnesses into an untrustworthy mess. You need to be comfortable and confident with your story before you go up in front of him.”

Scratch the TV show thing; this was starting to sound like some epic fantasy battle. Koushi let out a breath and shifted in his seat. He looked down at his drink and forced himself to take a sip. It was that or say something.

When Koushi didn’t look up, Tooru continued, “You have to be ready for anything, which is why I made you this.” He pushed the folder across the table. Koushi shrunk away as though someone had lit a stick of dynamite in his face. “It’s nothing bad I promise,” Tooru’s voice softened around the edges. “It’s just a copy of the statement you made, a rough outline of what my direct examination for you will look like, and an idea of what a cross-examination is so you can get a better understanding of it. I wanted you to have them as soon as possible so you can start becoming more comfortable with the material.”

Swallowing the heaviness that hung on his tongue, Koushi reached out slowly and pulled the file towards him. He opened it with a shaking hand and flipped through the pages, choosing a random one to skim. He got halfway down the page when he noticed one of the questions: _How were you involved with the White Lilies?_

Slamming the file shut, Koushi pushed it away and leaned back in the chair to put as much distance between him and the folder as possible.

Tooru sighed. “You need to get used to talking about this. The entire case is riding on you.” He paused and glanced at the phone by his hand. “I have a meeting at nine, but … think about it, okay? Let me know if you need anything else.” With that Tooru rose, drink in one hand and briefcase in the other.

Koushi watched him leave the shop, turn, and start towards the parking lot. Only when Tooru was out of sight did Koushi look back around the shop and then down at the table.

The manila file stared back up at him.

 

* * *

 

_Tuesday, June 21, 2016_

_8:47 am_

Daichi was standing in front of an unusually bare whiteboard, taking the evidence pictures down from their last case when Tooru appeared in the corner of his eye. He set the photographs down on what was normally the evidence table but was now more for a catchall for anything they hadn’t put away.

“I thought Hajime was meeting you at the courthouse?”

The lawyer leaned against the wall and clicked his tongue. “He says that, but if I don’t pick him up he’ll be late.”

Daichi just shook his head but couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. “He’s in the staff room, last I checked.”

“Thank you.” With that, Tooru pushed himself off the wall and started down the hall.

“Tooru wait,” Daichi called after the lawyer before he could stop himself.

Turning around slowly, Tooru raised one perfect eyebrow. “Yes?”

“You met with Suga this morning before you came?” Daichi wasn’t sure why he needed confirmation. He and Tooru had just spoken about the meeting the night before. He wasn’t sure why this meeting was important, but he knew if he didn’t ask it would continue swarming his brain for the rest of the day and he very well couldn’t text Tooru in the middle of a trial.

A slow smirk crossed the attorney’s lips. It wasn’t his usual proud grin, it was knowing and gave his eyes a mysterious twinkle. “I did.”

Daichi knew he was going to regret asking the question, but he thought, just maybe, he’d regret staying quiet more. “How is he doing?”

The smirk softened into a smile, but the mischievous twinkle never quite left Tooru’s eyes. “He’s doing okay. Still a little shaken up, but that’s to be expected. If you really want to know though, you could ask him yourself.”

“And how could I do that?” Daichi asked, trying not to roll his eyes. It wasn’t like he had Suga’s number. And even if he did, randomly texting him wasn’t an option.

Tooru gave him a skeptical look then let out an exasperated sigh as he turned around. “I would have thought the head of the Homicide Division would be smarter than this.”

“What are you-?”

“He works at a restaurant,” Tooru said, as though that was the answer to everything. Without another look the attorney vanished down the hall, leaving Daichi alone in the open office space.

Turning back to the board, Daichi pulled off the last two photographs and clicked his tongue. “He works at a restaurant,” Daichi muttered to himself as he ordered the photographs by the number written on the back. “What is he saying? That I should go eat there or something?”

Daichi slipped the photos into one of the slots in the accordion folder and then snapped the folder closed. He picked up the files and froze. The restaurant Suga worked at was only a twelven minute walk. Daichi would know, he and Tooru had walked over there once before. Suga worked there almost every night as a host or a waiter. And there was pretty good food, if Daichi could recall.

A string of laugh laughter echoed from the hall and pulled Daichi out of his own mind. He glanced up just as Tooru and Hajime rounded the corner. “Did he really ask the witness if he was taking Viagra?” Hajime asked.

“No, he told the witness he _should_ take Viagra, and that he should find a whore to fuck so that he wouldn’t be so uptight,” Tooru explained. Hajime snorted and shook his head, and Tooru grinned. “Never in my life have I seen a more inappropriate attorney. I swear, they’ll let anyone graduate from law school these days.”

“They let you graduate, so their standards must be pretty low,” Hajime replied with a shrug. Daichi didn’t miss the small smile that crossed the lieutenant’s lips.

Tooru let out an indignant squawk. “Hajime! I can’t believe you.” He turned and smacked the officer on the arm.

“No violence in the office,” Daichi chided.

“Did you hear him?”

“Come on, Tooru. We’re gonna be late,” Hajime said, ignoring Tooru’s glares as he continued down towards the elevators.

“Don’t just walk away! Daichi, do something about your officer.”

“You should probably go. You don’t want to be late.” Tooru threw him one last glare, and Daichi smiled in return. “Good luck with trail, both of you.”

The two vanished around the corner and Daichi shook his head before starting down the hallway from which they had come. He stopped at the second door on the right and pushed it open. It was strange to have headquarters so empty, especially on weekday, but Hajime was heading the courthouse to testify for half the day, Chikara, Ryu, and Tadashi were out on a search warrant tearing apart a building that most likely doubled as a drug den, and Tobio, Yuu and Kei were out at another crime scene. Daichi would have gone with them, but he never liked leaving headquarters completely empty, though it would never be, not with all the aids and lower-officers wandering back and forth.

Daichi dumped the file on Kei’s desk for the blond to deal with when he came back. Once that was done, he made his way back to his office. Paperwork called after all. Perhaps if he had known just how much paperwork was involved in police work he wouldn’t have decided to major in criminal justice, though realistically he would have found himself in police headquarters doing something. He couldn’t stay away even if he tried.

Plopping himself down behind his desk, Daichi flipped open his computer. He successfully skimmed the first two paragraphs of the document before his mind began to wander back to what Tooru had mentioned. Suga worked at a restaurant. If Daichi _really_ wanted to know how he was doing after three weeks he could always peek in and say hi. He needed food too. While he could cook, he just never had any time, and takeout was getting old. Could he really just show up to a restaurant by himself? Was that too sad? Too obvious? He couldn’t bring Tooru, and Suga wouldn’t be comfortable with anyone from the division.

The phone resting on his desk buzzed twice. Daichi tore his eyes away from the document and glanced over the message he’d just received. Upon seeing the name of the sender and idea came to Daichi. Ignoring the last message, which was just a gif of a cat rolling over, Daichi typed.

_Tuesday 9:12pm_

**Me**

Are you doing anything tonight?

_Tuesday 9:12pm_

**Kuroo Tetsurou**

No, Kenma’s gone until Thursday. Y?

_Tuesday 9:13pm_

**Me**

Want to grab dinner?

Daichi smiled to himself. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad after all.

 

* * *

 

_Tuesday, June 21, 2016_

_11:43 am_

Koushi folded the black shirt he wore when waiting or hosting. He placed it on the bed beside the dark slacks and picked up the satchel, throwing it over his shoulder before turning and slipping out his room. The apartment was quiet. It wasn’t the peaceful quiet he’d grown used to over the years. It was a tense quiet that was impossible to ignore. The silence was like a broken mirror, the glass scattered over the ground. No matter where Koushi stepped, he ended up with glass in his foot.  

As he stepped out in the living room, noise bubbled up from the restaurant below. The soft sounds of laughter, loud sizzling, and Shouyou’s voice above it all. A few weeks ago he might have gone and joined them, pushing any thoughts of the past away, if only for a little while. Now that was all he could ever think about. It seemed like every other word that came out of someone’s mouth took him back to some day or some memory Koushi hadn’t realized he’d saved. One time he had been walking through the kitchen when someone brushed against his arm. He’d been carrying two ceramic bowls. One second they were in his hand, the next they were on the ground, and he was shaking, thinking only of warm arms wrapping around him and sticky breath dancing over the back of his neck.

He slipped out of the apartment, letting the door fall closed behind him and started down the stairs. The laughter and talking grew louder and more boisterous the closer he got to the kitchen. It was always like this before the afternoon opening. He was just at the door that led straight into the restaurant when a head popped out of the kitchen door.

Rosa stared at him for a few seconds as though she was looking at a mythical beast. “T-tesoro,” the name sound forced. A smile crossed her lips, but it never reached her eyes. It vanished as soon as it appeared. “Dove stai andando?”

“I’m helping Keiji move into his apartment.”

“Oh, right.” She looked like was about to say more but just closed her mouth and stared.

Koushi turned back around and was about to push open the door when she spoke in a rush. “Keiji. He’s the one from _before_ , right?”

The way she said it, _before_ , like she couldn’t mention what _before_ was without tainting the very air she breathed, always put a sour taste in his mouth. Swallowing down the taste and the thoughts, Koushi forced himself to nod. “Y-yes. I knew him in college.”

Rose nodded in return and for a few seconds, they watched each other, waiting for the next move, unsure what to do themselves. Koushi didn’t allow himself to breathe, only to wait for what Rosa would do next.

After a few more painful slow seconds she forced another smile. “Have fun.”

Koushi didn’t return the smile, only turned and slipped out into the restaurant. The chairs were down, and the tables were mostly set. It was empty too, but for a figure on the far side of the room. Shouyou looked up, utensil box still in hand, and tossed a huge smile to Koushi, then froze.

He set down the box of forks and knives by dropping it onto the nearest table, Koushi tried not to flinch at the sound of metal on metal. He took a few more steps towards the door before Shouyou appeared at his side.

“Is everything okay?” The waiter asked.

Koushi let his hand fall against the front door with a sigh. “Fine,” he said, “I’m fine.”

Shouyou frowned. “Well, if you ever wanna talk...”

“I know. I just… I need to go.”

“Okay.” Koushi pushed the door open and stepped out, Shouyou trailed after him. “I’ll see you during the evening shift, right?”

“You will.”

“Seen later then,” Shouyou replied with a small and almost timid smile, a kind Koushi never thought the boy capable of.

This time he did smile, or at least tried to. Shouyou deserved that much at least. “Yeah, see you then.” With that, he turned and started down the street.

He moved through the crowds, quickly and quietly. Even among all the people, he could still feel their eyes, their heavy judgment. Sometimes it was like they were looking through him, watching his everything breath and reading his every thought. Sometimes he wondered if any of them had been a patron and recognized him. That only made him duck his head and walk a little faster. Much to his luck, Keiji was moving in nearby, not far from the police station either, so that probably had to do more with his new job than with Koushi.

It felt nice to have someone familiar live so close. Shouyou lived down in Southern L.A, and Asahi wasn’t in anymore because of the internship he’d gotten at a hospital. Having someone so close meant that Koushi could be out of the apartment and restaurant, which was something he was more inclined to do as of late. Walking around outside and occasionally looking over his shoulder was better than walking on broken glass and avoiding the person he was living with. In a strange way, this was kind of like being back with the-

Koushi ended the thought as soon as it came. How he lived now was nothing like what it had been with the White Lilies. His life now was vastly different from what it once was: he was no longer scared for his safety, he no longer felt the pressure of a gun to his back or to his head – though he could still imagine it – he slept in his own bed, not someone else’s, and he slept alone. He didn’t have to worry about waking up next to another unfamiliar face.

He was so absorbed in his own mind he almost didn’t notice where he was, right in front of Keiji’s apartment. Koushi had asked how Keiji could afford an apartment in downtown L.A. Keiji said it was nothing special, now Koushi could see just what he meant by that. It was an old building that looked one kick away from falling into the skyscraper next door. The windows probably leaked – though in L.A. that wasn’t much of a problem – and Koushi could practically smell the tobacco and weed, standing outside. With a small sigh and a quick glance over his shoulder, he slipped inside.

Once in the entryway, he stood off to the side and texted Keiji. Three minutes later and Keiji appeared from the stairwell. Koushi crossed the room to meet him but stopped when Keiji turned around and started back up the stairs. “The elevator is broken,” the young officer explained, “I’m only on the fourth floor.”

Only on the fourth floor. Koushi would have hit his friend if he weren’t so out of breath by the time they reached the proper level. Koushi had figured he was in shape, what with working at a restaurant and walking up and down a flight of stairs to get to his own apartment, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Perhaps he should have considered going out with Shouyou and some of the guys to play volleyball, maybe then he’d be able to climb four flights of stairs without feeling too winded.

By the time they made it into the apartment, Koushi had gotten his breath back and was able to look around. It was smaller than Rosa’s apartment. Its peeling wallpaper and suspiciously stained carpet matched the exterior of the building. There was already a small dining table set up, with a set of four rickety chairs, and a couch that looked half deflated and certainly didn’t match the brown wall. But none of it looked bad, and what Keiji had already taken out of the boxes almost made the apartment feel like a home.

Nodding at the rest of the boxes lining the walls, Koushi turned to Keiji. “So where do you want to start?”

“The kitchen is half unpacked. Let’s finish that, then we can start on the bedroom.”

They made their way to the kitchen and fell into an easy rhythm. For the most part, they worked in silence, taking bowls and cups out of the remaining boxes. The only time Koushi spoke up or even looked at Keiji was to ask where he wanted something to go, but with Keiji having already unpacked one of the three boxes, it was pretty easy to figure out.

“How long are you planning on staying in L.A?” Koushi asked from atop one of the linoleum-covered counters.

Keiji shrugged as he passed Koushi another glass. “It depends on how long the police department will have me. I was lucky to even get a transfer.”

“You’ll do a great job,” Koushi said, setting the last of the glasses on the top shelf, before closing the door to the cabinet and sliding off the counter. “They’re lucky to have you.”

They moved to the bedroom in silence. It was about the size of Koushi’s own room but filled with fewer books and more boxes. The moved the furniture around first and then began to unpack. It was almost two by the time they were done with the bedroom and bathroom. Koushi hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until Keiji mentioned lunch.

“What time does your shift start?” Keiji asked once they were out of the building.

“Five.”

They continued their walk in the same silence they’d had during most of their unpacking. Koushi found himself glancing over at his friend a few times. Keiji had always been the quietest and most introverted of his friends back in college, choosing to sit back and listen and adding only when he deemed it necessary. But perhaps that had changed as well. After all, Keiji had been more talkative these last few weeks than Koushi remembered, but he couldn’t tell if that was actually a change or due to the circumstances at hand. Maybe Keiji was more extroverted now than Koushi even realized. Maybe he was itching for a conversation and just didn’t know what to say. Maybe more things had changed than Koushi even bothered to consider.

Koushi followed Keiji into the restaurant and then to their table once the hostess called them. He was aware that they were moving and that their hostess was saying something, but even a minute later he was unable to recall what she had said. He was too buried in his own mind, and only really snapped out of his when Keiji asked what he wanted to drink.

Blinking, Koushi looked at his friend and then at the waiter watching him patiently. “J-just water is fine,” Koushi stammered, and the waiter smiled before taking the wine glass in front of him and vanishing between the tables.

Across from him, Keiji was already hidden behind a large menu. Koushi, figuring that he should probably do the same, grabbed the menu lying before him and froze. He realized that behind Keiji was a wall, to his left was a window and behind him was the rest of the restaurant. His body tensed and suddenly his stomach dropped as though he’d gone over the dip of a rollercoaster. He couldn’t see anything, who came and went, who was seated, or even who was working. If someone were to come up behind him he’d never know. Pushing the thought away Koushi opened the menu. He got through all the entrées before realizing that he hadn’t read a single dish.

He forced himself to tune out the pounding of his own heart and looked towards Keiji. “What do you recommend?” Koushi asked, keeping his voice calm, though he was all too aware of the tension in his throat.

If Keiji heard something in Koushi’s voice different, he didn’t mention it as he put his menu to the side. “You would enjoy the curry. It’s quite spicy.” For a second Keiji froze, his expression remained passive but his eyes widened half a centimeter. “That is if you would like something spicy. If not, they have amazing fish-”

“The curry sounds great,” Koushi said and Keiji let out a quiet breath.

For a moment they sat there, watching each other. Koushi returned to looking at his menu or at least rereading the name of the curry dish over and over again, and Keiji went back to sipping on water and glancing out the window. Koushi had never been so relieved when the waiter came over to take their orders. The problem was, once the menus were gone there was nothing to hide behind or distract Koushi from the thought that anyone could be behind him and he would never know. Keiji would see them, Koushi reminded himself, but somehow the thought only made his chest tighter.

“How’s work?” Koushi said after a second too long.

Keiji shrugged. “It’s different, but I’m enjoying it.”

“That’s good.” There was another pause and it felt like the whole restaurant had gone quiet. “Do you think you’ll ever go back to doing any undercover work?”

“I don’t know. I’m happy with where I am, but if they wanted to move me I wouldn’t be opposed to it. How are you, Koushi?”

He tried not to flinch at the name. The flash of concern that passed through Keiji’s eyes told him that he had failed miserably. After a long sip of water to try and calm his heart and soothe his throat, Koushi said, “I’m… fine. Things are fine.”

“How are Shouyou and Asahi?”

Koushi almost forgot that Keiji had met his two closest co-workers at the surprise party that Rosa and Shouyou had set up for his birthday. They hadn’t talked but for some awkward words and Shouyou jumping around, but Keiji had insisted that he liked them. Koushi was sure that was only said for his own sake, but it was a nice thought nonetheless. “They’re doing well. Asahi got an internship at a local hospital, so I haven’t seen him around much, and Shouyou… things are better on his end as well.”

“I’m glad, they’re nice people,” Keiji said before taking a sip of his own water. “How is Rosalinda doing with everything that’s happened?”

Koushi stared down at his glass, jaw tight. “Rosa… she’s okay.” He probably would have been able to answer better had they actually had a conversation in the last week. But Rosa had barely been able to look at him without that pitiful gaze, and Koushi hadn’t been able to stay in the same room as he for more than ten minutes.

Keiji just nodded and began to tell some story about his new co-workers. As it turned out, it wasn’t just the officers on the fifth floor who were loud. Keiji’s new coworkers were rambunctious and energetic. Perhaps that was just another L.A. thing though.

When their food came an easier silence fell between them. Neither Koushi nor Keiji tried to bridge the quiet, deciding it best to leave the other be and turn that attention to their food. Koushi wouldn’t have minded the shift in attention and the sudden quiet if it wasn’t for the fact that it made him all the more aware of what he couldn’t see. Every squeak of a chair left Koushi on the edge of his seat, and every bang, clank, and bubble of laughter nearly had Koushi turning around to look over his shoulder.

Keiji didn’t react to any of Koushi’s sudden flinches or shifts, though every now and again Koushi caught the sight of a small crease in the other man’s brow. Keiji’s only reaction came when the waiter stopped by the fill up their waters. He came up behind Koushi and reached over his shoulder, silent as a mouse. The brush of his sleeve was as light as a feather, but that we enough to cause Koushi to jump and almost tumble out of his seat. After that, the waiter only returned to hand them their check, and even then he gave Koushi a wide girth.

They left the restaurant only after splitting the check and walked back to Keiji’s apartment in silence. The summer sun was out at full blast, but Koushi still felt a cold shiver run down his spine every time someone passed a little too close or looked at him a little too long.

“Koushi?” He looked up at his name. Keiji was watching him with a cautious gaze. When Koushi didn’t say anything, Keiji continued, “Morisuke and Takanobu called me yesterday. They wanted to know how everything was going. I gave them an update, but I didn’t tell them about the trial. I still think you should call them and let them know before the media does.”

The Media… right. Koushi so rarely thought of them. Tooru had mentioned something about this blowing up into a big case. Koushi just didn’t see how that was possible, so he didn’t think about it too much. He had never considered that anyone outside of the case would even know what was going on,”

“I can send you their numbers,” Keiji continued, “if you wanted to talk to them yourself.”

Koushi studied the cracks in the sidewalk as they continued down the street. “I’ll think about it.”

Keiji nodded and took a step to the side, Koushi looked up and followed until they were paused beside a brick building. “Would you like me to walk you to the restaurant?”

“I’m good, thanks Keiji.”

They stared at each other for a moment before exchanging small waves. As Koushi was turning he paused and looked back at his friend. “Let Mori and Taka know that I say hi and wish them the best.”

“You could tell them that yourself.”

“Just let them know.” With that, Koushi turned and started down the street before Keiji could add anything else.

 

* * *

 

_Tuesday, June 21, 2016_

_7:17 pm_

Tetsurou greeted Daichi outside of the restaurant with a hug that was a bit too warm and way too tight. Not that Daichi was surprised or could say he minded. It had been a while since they met up, just the two of them. They stood out on the patio waiting for their names to be called. Even in the middle of the week the restaurant was packed and they were one of five other groups waiting to be seated. Daichi didn’t know whether to be sorry or happy for Suga and the rest of the staff. He decided the best course of action was to stay out of the way of anyone who was moving.

As Tetsurou went on some long rant about some new kid in their division, Daichi found himself peering into the restaurant, eyes darting from table to table, moving figure to figure. He looked at the host’s table first but only saw two women that he didn’t recognize. Trying not to be disappointed, he turned and skimmed the restaurant. There was a lot of movement, and it was hard to catch a glimpse at anyone through the glass. But there was a second when Daichi could have sworn he caught a glimpse of silver hair and any breath he had in him vanished momentarily.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

Daichi’s attention snapped back to the man beside him. He blinked and found himself nodding along. “Yeah… you’re completely right.”

Tetsurou let out a loud snort. “Don’t even pretend you were paying attention to anything I was saying.” Tetsurou shook his head before peering over Daichi’s shoulder. “You were pretty distracted. See anything you like?”

Sucking in a deep breath, Daichi sputtered, “n-no I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rolling his eyes, Tetsurou started towards the door. The people before them had just been seated so there was no room to wait inside. Daichi trailed his friend, hoping that his face wasn’t terribly red.

An elbow met his ribs and Daichi coughed, sending a glare in Tetsurou’s direction. “What?”

“I found what you were looking for. Your right, two-o’clock.”

Daichi’s head was turning before Tetsurou finished his sentence. Sure enough, Suga was walking out of the kitchen, plates in hand. He wore an expression that from far away was mostly unreadable. It was something in his eyes, like he wasn’t focused on what was in front of him. But the moment he approached a table the look was gone, replaced with a bright smile that would have had Daichi smiling, if it wasn’t for the pest at his side, elbowing his ribs, again.

The hostess greeted Tetsurou with a wide smile. As they exchanged pleasantries, Daichi looked to the other side of the room. Suga and his bright smile were gone. Tetsurou must have said something because the hostess laughed as she gathered some menus and started for a small table in the corner. They sat down, and when Daichi looked up he was met with a smirk.

“Now what?” He sighed.

Tetsurou shrugged. “Thank me later,” he said glancing over his own menu. “I recommend… well… _everything_. Kenma really likes the gnocchi, and their meatballs are fantastic if you’re into… Oh! Suga, funny seeing you here.”

“I work here, Tetsu,” the waiter said lightly. “I see you’re here with… oh, Captain Sawamura.”

Suga sounded surprised as if he hadn’t actually noticed Daichi until that moment. Hoping not to startle him anymore, Daichi smiled and gave him a small nod. “Daichi, remember?”

“Right, Daichi,” Suga parroted. For a second he just stared, as if unsure what to do. Then, in a flurry of motion, he pulled out a drinks list and set it between them. “Here you go, please let me know if you need anything else.” In a blink he was at another table.

Burying his head in his hands, Daichi let out a muffled groan. “Why didn’t you tell me this would be a terrible idea?”

“It’s not a terrible idea. You just need to get more comfortable around each other. If you want, some emergency could suddenly come up and I could-”

“No, absolutely not,” Daichi hissed, shooting his friend a glare. “You already dragged me here, you are _not_ leaving me alone.”

“But then you could have a conversation and-”

“Stop. No, just… no.”

Shrugging, Tetsurou settled back in his seat. “Fine, just don’t yell at me later for third wheeling.”

“This isn’t a date. You can’t third-wheel on something that isn’t a date.”

Tetsurou smirked. “And it will continue to not be a date if you don’t come out from behind your menu and talk to him.” With a sigh, Tetsurou set down his menu and pulled Daichi’s down as well. “It’s Suga. He’s a really nice guy. Just talk to him, I bet you have more in common than you think.”

“Oh yeah, like how I arrested him and held him in the police station for almost twelve hours?”

“I’m trying to help!” Tetsurou huffed.

“Is it anything I can help with?” Asked a calm voice at Daichi’s side.

Daichi’s gaze snapped back to Suga who stood by the table with a bright smile, in the corner of his eye Daichi was aware of Tetsurou’s growing smirk. Before he could reply, Tetsurou was talking. Again. “Daichi doesn’t know what to order and clearly I’m not helping, so what would you recommend.”

“Well, the marinara with meatballs in pretty good.”

“I’ll get that,” Daichi said with a small smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Suga smiled again and for a moment Daichi was blinded by the brightness, until he realized that it didn’t light up his whole face. It seemed to illuminate everything except his eyes. By the time Daichi came to that conclusion, Tetsurou had ordered and Suga was gone.

Dinner proceeded as usual. They passed stories back and forth about their unruly coworkers. Tetsurou made fun of Daichi every time his eyes wandered, even slightly, towards Suga. And Daichi tried to keep his attention focused on what his friend said, but every now and again he couldn’t help but think about the dullness of Suga’s eyes, or that fake smile. The more he thought about it, the more his eyes wandered, and the more Tetsurou teased. As annoying as it was, Daichi couldn’t blame his friend. After all, when Tetsurou had been pinning and winning about how kind and sweet and cute Kenma was, Daichi had done much of the same.

They were done with their dishes, and Tetsurou was in the middle of telling another great story about what this new guy had done when he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide. “Rosa!” He yelled.

Daichi was about to scold him for being so loud in a public space, but Tetsurou was already up and out of his chair. With an exaggerated sigh, Daichi rose and trailed after his friend. Tetsurou was already across the room, his arms thrown around a small woman.

“Now, where’s Kenma?” Mrs. Verano asked once she had escaped her own bear hug.

“He’s out of town at a conference.”

“I see. Did you come alone then?”

“No I came with a friend,” Tetsurou looked up and waved Daichi over. For a second Daichi considered just turning and walking the other way, but one look from his friend and Daichi was there, standing off to the side, smiling awkwardly. “You remember Daichi Sawamura, right Rosa?”

In half a second Mrs. Verano’s expression went from pleasantly surprised to scowling. “Yes I remember him,” she didn’t bother to disguise the bitterness in her voice. “How could I not? He almost got Suga killed.”

Daichi swallowed and looked at some of the pictures over Mrs. Verano’s head. Beside him, Tetsurou shifted from one foot to another. They should have expected this. Daichi hadn’t seen Mrs. Verano the days following the shooting, and though all that was almost a month ago he should have figured that she would still be angry. For a few moments, while Tetsurou looked for something to say and Mrs. Verano glared daggers at Daichi, their corner of the restaurant, away from the chairs and close to the entrance that led up to the apartment, was silent and thick with tension.

Tetsurou opened his mouth when Mrs. Verano turned her glare softening into a careful look that Daichi couldn’t name. “Suga,” she said, her voice sounded like it had been caught on something trying to crawl its way out of her throat.

Suga, who had arms full of dishes, paused. For a second that bright but fake smile slipped over his face, but the second his eyes landed on Mrs. Verano it fell away. “What is it?”

Mrs. Verano frowned for a second before a pleasant yet twisted smile slid over her lips. “You forgot to tell me that my favorite customer was visiting.”

Pausing for a moment, Suga watched Mrs. Verano for a few moments. “I was busy,” he finally said, but his voice was distant and irritated. “Sorry.”

“Just tell me next time. Alright...” There was another pause, as though she was trying to choose her words. “ _Suga_.”

“Sure,” he huffed.

Daichi glanced up and found Tetsurou watching him, one eyebrow raised. At least was just as confused as Daichi was, that brought the police captain some comfort or at least made it a little less awkward.

Suga took another step towards the kitchen doors just as Rosa reached out as if to grab his arm or his hand. Suga froze, as did Rosa, and a second later that hand fell to her side. Turning to looking fully at Rosa, Suga’s eyes narrowed and the straight line of his lips turned down into what was almost a scowl. “What?”

Rosa met his gaze with a soft look of her own. “Ti senti bene? Cosa c’è, Tesoro?”

“I’m fine!” Suga snapped. “These dishes are just heavy.”

Without another look back, Suga walked to the double doors that lead into the kitchen and pushed them open with his shoulder. There was a moment when loud voices, the sound of knives hitting metal, and the smell of something sizzling washed over them. A second later all that was left was a tension and the noises were gone. Daichi glanced to Rosa. There was a sadness in her eyes and a strain in her jaw that he didn’t know how to explain. A second later she turned around.

“Let me get you your check,” she said as she walked past them. “I’ll be back with it in a second.

And just like that Daichi and Tetsurou were left to stand in the middle of the restaurant, alone. They exchanged another glance and Daichi let out a sigh. “So that was…”

“Weird,” Tetsurou finished with a nod. After another second they began to walk back to their table. “I’ve never seen them interact like that. Normally they’re so warm, like mother and son.”

“Do you think something happened?” Daichi asked softly as he sunk back into his seat, glancing around at the rest of the restaurant. No other eyes were on them, so it appeared that everything was kept quiet and out of sight, but he couldn’t be sure.

Tetsurou shrugged and took a sip of whatever he had left. “Dunno, and we’re probably never going to know. As it is, it’s none of our business.”

“True,” But even as Daichi spoke, he couldn’t help but watch the double doors that led to the kitchen. When Suga walked out of them, he looked almost out of place, and then, in a second, he was back with his winning fake smile. For a moment Daichi couldn’t help but stare and wonder if there was anything he could do to see that real smile, the kind Suga had shown him only a handful of times before.


	22. Trial - Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter. It's a bit late, but it's still Monday so...? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> TW: mentions of death, a dead body

_ Wednesday, June 22, 2016 _

_ 11:02 am _

Koushi had been awake long before the first rays of L.A sunlight had poured in through the window. Every time he had closed his eyes and tired to sleep, he saw Rosa’s hand reaching and then stopping. It was as though a glass barrier had gone up between them. She’d been this way since Koushi had come clean and told her the truth of what actually happened. And though he had stayed away from any mention of Yui’s murder, Rosa could still smell the blood on his hands. He was sure of it. That was why she wouldn’t touch him. He was a dirty, filthy with blood and sex and drugs, and she was starting to figure it out.

That hadn’t been the first time, either. There were many times when he’d see her in the corner of his eye, reaching out towards him only to stop and turn the other way or begin a new task. Each time he would look away, pretend he didn’t see anything. Each time he would act like nothing had changed and that the distance between them was normal. And each time it would hurt a little more to know that one of the few people he had put trust into was turning away from him. Though could he blame her?

The knife in his hand slipped across the cutting board, scraping against the side of his finger. With a hiss, Koushi jumped back, letting the blade clatter across the table and to the ground. Better to let it fall then sustain another injury trying to catch it.

“You okay?” Shouyou asked from farther down the counter.

“I’m fine,” Koushi said, raising his finger to his mouth to suck away some of the blood. “Just cut myself.”

He bent down to pick up the knife and when he stood, Shouyou was there, pulling at his hand to take a look. The younger boy inspected the wound as one might insect a strange bug or a mysterious rock. “Doesn’t look too bad, but you should still wash it.”

Yanking his hand away with a bit too much force, Koushi turned back to the bell pepper he’d been cutting. “It’s fine. I’ll take care of it once I’m done.”

Without so much as a pause, Shouyou pried the knife from Koushi’s fingers and shoved him playfully to the side. “I’ll finish this, you go wash it out and get a band-aid.”

Koushi turned to argue, but upon seeing the flame behind Shouyou’s eyes, he stepped back from the counter with a sigh. In the back of the kitchen, Rosa kept a large and impeccably stocked emergency kit. In such a fast paced environment burns and cuts were common and Rosa, being a mother and a grandmother and just generally a kind woman, felt it necessary to have everything on hand, should something occur. Once his finger was wrapped he made his way back to Shouyou, who had finished cutting up the bell pepper and was adding the chopped slices to the small pile of vegetables Koushi had started.

“Who’s all this for?” Shouyou asked as he plopped the knife and cutting board into the sink.

“Keiji,” Koushi said, scooping the vegetables into a bowl.

“Oh, you mean the guy who was your roommate in college! He seemed super nice. Like he was all quiet and stuff but he was really cool.” As Shouyou continued his rant with large arm motions and made-up words, Koushi found himself trying to piece together the strangeness that was Shouyou talking about Keiji.

They should never have met. It wasn’t like Koushi wanted to keep Keiji a secret from Shouyou or visa versa, but the two of them coming together was like two universes crossing paths. It was wrong, illogical, and reminded Koushi that everything that had happened wasn’t in two different lives but on one continuing story. Keiji had jumped from one timeline to another. He knew both Koushi Sugawara and Suga Michimiya. He knew what happened to Koushi, and if he had any opinions of what happened, he didn’t share them.

Shouyou was blind to Koushi Sugawara. He only knew Suga Michimiya, and Koushi wanted to keep it that way. After what happened with Rosa, he couldn’t risk losing another friend. Besides, he’d kept Shouyou in the dark for two years, what was another year or two or five or ten?

“Hey, Suga,” Shouyou’s voice was softer than Koushi remembered it being, “are you-?”

“Fine,” he said rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I’m fine.”

Shouyou frowned. “You sure? You’ve been pretty spacy lately and like… a lot less happy and woosh. You can tell me you know. I talk about Natsu all the time, so if you need to talk, you can.” Shouyou could be dense, he could be a bit of a klutz, but there was no doubt that he cared about his friends, which only made Koushi want to hide it more. He couldn’t lose this trust or this caring. He just couldn’t.

Maybe he should have left L.A. when he’d had the chance. “Yes, I’m fine. I don’t know if I asked, but how was your birthday yesterday?”

Shouyou’s frown turned into a soft grin. “It was great! Natsu made a cake for me, with the help of our mom of course, but it was so good. We went to the park and had a picnic”

Koushi smiled. “Speaking of Natsu, how is she?”

Despite how occupied his mind was, it hadn’t escaped Koushi’s notice that Shouyou had been working more and speaking of his sister less. The problem with working in a busy restaurant was that Koushi could never pull him aside and ask him what was up.

A small smile slipped across Shouyou’s lips, the kind that was always present when he spoke of his sister, so Koushi took that as a good sign. But there was something in his eyes, worry or fear. “Well, the new medicine is working well. She’s got more energy now and her skin’s cleared up but it’s making her lose her hearing, which the doctor said was possible but unlikely... She’s seriously considering applying to Pamona though, so that’s pretty cool!”

Koushi found himself smiling. It was a weak smile, wobbly and uncomfortable across his lips and cheeks, but a smile nonetheless. “Tell her I said hi and wish her the best. I should probably get back to working on lunch.”

Shouyou nodded. “Yeah, okay. Oh, and Suga?” Koushi looked up from the vegetables he was preparing and was met with Shouyou’s intense gaze. “You can talk to me anytime, okay?”

“Yeah… Anytime,” Koushi tried not to choke on the words or the guilt that pooling in his stomach. To distract himself, he turned his attention back to cutting and heating and cooking the pasta.

It had come as a surprise when Keiji had admitted that he was a vegetarian. Koushi had offered to make pasta and meatballs; instead, it was pasta and vegetables. Keiji hadn’t been a vegetarian in college, though it wasn’t like he had gone out of his way to eat meat. Still, it was a strange thought. A change. A reminder that time had gone by and that they were different people than they had been in college. At the end of the day, Koushi was not the Koushi that Keiji knew, and Keiji was no longer the Keiji that used to be his roommate. There were changes, some small and some large. And hard has he might, Koushi found himself counting all of them.

After all that had happened between him and the police, Koushi hadn’t thought he’d purposefully walk into the police station. But fifteen minutes later, there he was. He took a step into the familiar lobby, ignoring the twisting and turning of his gut as he walked towards the elevators.

“May I help you?” The woman at the reception desk asked.

Right. Just walking in wasn’t really an option anymore. He turned and made his way to the desk. The woman looked him over, blinked once, twice, and then her eyes flew open and a small, confused smile slipped over her lips. “It’s certainly been a while. I hope nothing else is troubling you.”

Koushi shook his head. “No, nothing.” Ignoring the sudden bouts of paranoia and anxiety, everything was fine. “I’m just here to drop off lunch for a friend.” He held up the bag as proof.

“Who?”

“Keiji Akaashi.” The woman looked surprised, as if she expected him to say something else. Koushi didn’t allow himself to linger on who that could be. “He’s with the juvenile division I think?”

“Oh, yes. Officer Keiji works on the fourth floor. You can start heading up and I’ll give him a ring to let him know you are on your way.”

“Thank you.”

A minute later and he was still waiting for the damn elevator, the bloody thing took forever. Two minutes later, he was in said elevator as it crawled its way up to the fourth floor – he’d almost pushed the fifth-floor button out of habit, but caught himself last minute. Perhaps the stairs would have been faster. Another painfully long two minutes and the elevator finally stopped and its door slid open after a moment of consideration.

Without looking or thinking too much, Koushi stepped out of the elevator and promptly ran in someone. Stumbling back a few steps, Koushi looked up and was met with wide, golden eyes.

“Oh ho ho, isn’t this a surprise.”

Koushi blinked and looked over the man again. Well, this was something. “Dr. Bokuto,” Koushi said as a way of greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect you either, Suga. What are you doing here?”

Koushi held up the bag. “Dropping off lunch for a friend.”

The therapist blinked his wide eyes and tilted his head slightly. “You realize this is the fourth floor, right?”

Raising an eyebrow, Kosuhi nodded. “I do?”

“Oh I just figured you’d be heading up to the fifth floor,” Dr. Bokuto blinked again and shrugged. “Well, anyway. Have fun with your friend.”

“Have a good day, Dr. Bokuto.”

“You too, Suga. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stepping to the side, Koushi let the psychologist pass. There was a moment of silence before the elevator doors inched closed and finally Koushi was alone in a hallway. In front of him, hanging off of the wall, was a plaque with different office numbers pointing different ways. After reading over the numbers two or three times, Koushi was about to turn right when he heard the faint clips of shoes on carpet. He spun around just as Keiji turned the corner.

“The receptionist mentioned that you were on your way up,” Keiji said with a small nod. “Would you like to come in and sit?”

Koushi found himself looking down at the bag in his hands. “If you have work to do…”

“Police officers get lunch breaks too,” Keiji responded and started back down the way he came.

Koushi trailed after him, eyes up and attention forward, though it was hard to keep his gaze from wandering. Most of the doors they passed were cracked open or left open all the way. Some of the offices were empty and dark, but others were filled with people typing on desktops, hunched over a document, or sitting around and talking with one or a few other people. The office was quiet and seemingly relaxed, quite the opposite of the floor above and not matching the description Keiji had given him a few days prior. Maybe they were just busy, or perhaps they were on their best behavior for their visitor. Still, it felt wrong for a police officer to be so normal. It was like being in any other business office, or at least that was what Koushi imagined.

Keiji’s office was mostly empty minus a desk pushed up against the wall on the right and a table with four chairs on the left. The desk itself was bare minus a computer and a small stack of paper. A closer look told Koushi that the paper was some evaluation signed at the bottom by none other than Dr. Bokuto. Reverting his eyes, Koushi looked around at the rest of the room. Even the bookshelves were vacant, minus a few folders and boxes along the lowest shelves. Koushi placed the bag on the table and sunk into one of the chairs, still eyeing the room. He wasn’t sure what to expect from Keiji’s workplace, and he did just move in, but it still felt… empty, cold.

Across from him, Keiji plopped down into a chair. “This isn’t my permanent office.”

“Oh?” Koushi turned from the room to look at his friend.

Keiji met his gaze then shifted, choosing instead to study the mostly bare bookshelf. “It’s just until they decide what they want me to do and the last of the sanctions are lifted.”

“Right…”

Keiji had mentioned it once before, that he’d been reprimanded for the shot he fired all those weeks ago. Koushi had told himself that the entire thing was no big deal, and Keiji himself had insisted that these kinds of things happened all the time in the police force and that he was just getting the blunt end because he was young and the police force had an image to keep. But after all these weeks, Koushi was sure it would have been over, water under the bridge, dust under the rug, but perhaps not.

For a moment they watched each other. Koushi was unsure of how to breach the subject, frankly he wasn’t even sure if he should. If Keiji wanted to talk about it, he would have brought it up. Koushi thought back to the papers on Keiji’s desk not five feet away. He could ask what those were about; inquire about how Keiji knew Dr. Bokuto and what he thought of the odd psychologist.

After another moment Koushi turned to the bag. “I brought you some lunch. Pasta, vegetarian like you asked. I hope you like it.”

A small smile slipped over Keiji’s mouth and he nodded. “Thank you.”

Pulling the boxes out of the bag, Koushi passed one to Keiji and kept the other for himself. “It’s nothing. Let’s eat.”

 

* * *

 

_ Wednesday, June 22, 2016 _

_ 11:42 am _

Daichi could always tell when Koutarou came by. The psychologist didn’t have to be in the room and didn’t have to open his mouth for Daichi to know he was there. One moment, it was quiet. The only sounds came from the clicking of keys or the scraping of a pen on paper. Any voices that did speak, spoke quietly in hushed tones. The next moment, someone was yelling across the room and two more voices were cackling with laughter. Any thoughts of peace and concentration were long gone.

After a quick glare sent in the direction of the door, Daichi hunched over his own paperwork and did his best to ignore the laughter and screams that came from the other room.

He was halfway through the brief when the door opened. Before he could say anything or even look up, a voice broke through, “Hey, Captain. What’s going on?”

Letting out a quiet breath and being careful not to look annoyed or off put, Daichi sat back and tossed the man who had entered a smile. “Good morning, Koutarou. How are you?”

The young psychologist plopped himself down in one of the chairs across from Daichi. He tossed his feet up on the coffee table and Daichi made a point of looking glaring, not to Koutarou but at his feet. When Koutarou made no effort to remove his feet, Daichi looked back down at his papers.

“I’m doing well,” Koutarou said, crossing his feet on the table, which Daichi made a point of ignoring. “How are you? More specifically, how was dinner last night?”

“Dinner was-” Daichi stopped and found himself looking up. There was a glint in Koutarou’s eyes, and Daichi frowned. “How much did Kuroo tell you?”

A toothy grin was the only answer Daichi received, but it was more than enough.

Groaning, he flopped back into his chair and buried his face in his hands. He’d have preferred to never think of that dinner again.

“Come on, man. It didn’t sound  _ that _ bad,” Koutarou said. “I’ve gone on much worse first dates. This one time, a girl took me to this burger place-”

“It wasn’t a date, Koutarou.” The psychologist fell silent, and Daichi let his hands fall to his lap so that he was staring up at the ceiling. “I went out to dinner with Kuroo, ended up going to Rosa’s restaurant, and Suga was our waiter. That’s it. Nothing else happened.”

Koutarou’s feet slid off the table as he sat up and forward slightly. His eyes raked over Daichi once and then twice. “Is that so? Tetsurou made it sound like…”

“Yeah, well he got it wrong.” Daichi met Koutarou’s gaze and scowled. “Don’t give me that look and don’t psychoanalyze me. It wasn’t a date just a… bad idea. Now, are you here for something, or can I get work done?”

Koutarou huffed, a flash of hurt darting across his eyes though it was gone a second later. “I was dropping off some forms on the fourth floor and figured it was almost time for lunch, so I decided to stop by. If you’re too busy we can always figure out another day.”

Guilt lodged itself in Daichi’s chest. He looked between his papers and the clock hanging on the wall. Sure enough, it was almost noon. Turning his gaze back to Koutarou, Daichi said, “Don’t go anywhere. I just need to finish this page and then we can head out.”

“Woohoo!” Koutarou hooted. He quieted down almost instantly after giving Daichi an apologetic look, though Daichi found that he didn’t have it in him to glare. Instead, he turned back to his paper and began read.

He made it through two sentences when he had to stop because of the heavy weight of eyes resting on the top of his head. Looking up, Daichi met Koutarou’s expected and excited gaze.

Daichi sighed. “Did you say hi to Yuu yet?”

“Nah, haven’t seen him,” Koutarou replied.

“He down the hall in the dark room looking at some blood splatters. Why don’t you go talk with him?”

After a quick agreement, Koutarou was up and out of the room a few seconds later. With a soft chuckle, Daichi returned to his reading. Without anyone to distract or watch him, he made it through the two pages quickly. He checked his emails once for any updates from Tooru, and when there were none he grabbed his phone, keys, and wallet and was out the door a second later.

Koutarou hadn’t even made it all the way down the hall, only into the main office, where he leaned against Hajime’s desk while speaking loudly and animatedly to Ryuu. The only person who looked bothered by the whole thing was Chikara, who occasionally sent glares to Ryuu as though hoping to forcibly shut them up with just his eyes. Hajime didn’t look up from his computer. Daichi wasn’t even sure the lieutenant knew that Koutarou was there, much less leaning against his desk.

“Ready to go?” Daichi asked.

Koutarou perked up, said one last goodbye to Ryuu – much to Chikara’s pleasure – then turned and joined Daichi in the hallway. Together they walked to the elevators, where Daichi pressed the button and they were left to wait.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you who I ran into when I was on the fourth floor.”

Daichi perked up a bit, curiosity getting the best of him. The only person he knew on the fourth floor was Keiji Akaashi, but it was unlikely Koutarou knew him. When he racked his brain and couldn’t think of anyone else, Daichi finally asked, “Who?”

“Koushi,” Koutarou replied with a bit too much pride. “He said he was dropping off lunch for a friend, but I thought he only knew people here and in SOB. I didn’t think he was friends with anyone in the police force.”

Trying not to look too interested in the idea of Suga being in the near vicinity, Daichi just hummed and nodded. “He’s probably visiting Officer Keiji.”

“Who?” Koutarou raised an eyebrow.

“Keiji Akaashi, he’s the new guy working for the police department in the juvenile division. Just started a week ago if I recall correctly. You might have seen him around your offices, as he was…  _ involved _ in the confrontation three weeks ago.”

Daichi really couldn’t tell if Koutarou was listening anymore or not. Upon hearing Officer Keiji’s name, the psychologist was spaced out, staring at something just in front of the elevator. Daichi peered closer. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that Koutarou was blushing.

“So that’s his name…”

“What did you say?”

Koutarou looked up and turned to Daichi with wide, owl-like eyes. If he hadn’t been blushing before, he was now. And stuttering too. But before he could get a chance to reply, Daichi phone gave two sharp buzzes, and then two more just as the elevator doors opened.

Raising a hand, Daichi took a step back into the hallway as he answered his phone. “Major Crimes division, Captain Daichi Sawamura speaking. How may I help you?”

“Captain Sawamura, this is dispatch,” a calm voice on the other end replied. “There’s been an incident in West L.A. The police are there now, but they called in requesting the Major Crimes division.”

Suppressing a groan, Daichi said, “send me the address. We’ll be down there as soon as we can.”

With one last exchange of ‘thank you’s,’ Daichi ended the call and turned to Koutarou who had stepped into the elevator and was currently holding open the door. “We’re going to have to find another time to have lunch. Dispatch called. Apparently, there’s been an  _ incident _ in West L.A.”

Before Koutarou could ask another question or even step out of the elevator, Daichi turned and started back down the hall. He stopped by the desks. “Hajime, Chikara, Ryuu, with me. Tobio, run and grab Tadashi or Kei, whoever is free. We have another case on our hands.”

They were parking their cars not thirty-five minutes later. The police had taped off a pretty gray house, large for the area, but not too big. The front door had been busted open, and men were hovering around it as if afraid to step inside. Daichi hopped out of the car, flashed his badge, and stepped over the tape with ease. As he crossed the lawn towards the front door, an older gentleman emerged from the crowd of officers and met him in front of the steps that lead up to the door.

“What’s the deal with this case, sir?” Daichi said in lieu of a greeting. “It seems that your men have everything under control.”

“We’ve done the best that we can, but this isn’t under our purview. Follow me and I’ll tell you more.”

As Daichi was led inside, he gestured for Kei and the others to follow him. The blonde already had his camera unpacked and resting on his shoulder. If Daichi paused long enough, he could just make out the gentle flashing of a green recording light.

The police captain led Daichi and the others into the house. Upon first glance, the living room and entryway looked like something out of a magazine, neat and put together. If it wasn’t for a sharp tap on the shoulder from Kei, Daichi would have missed the glass littering the floor around the coffee table and the couch. It didn’t come from the television, which hung off the wall, untouched, nor did it come from the vase in the middle of the table, shiny and free of dust. Frowning, Daichi signaled for Kei to keep filming as he followed the other made further into the house.

“You cleared the house, right?” Daichi asked.

The other gentleman huffed and looked ready to roll his eyes. “Of course.”

As they walked past the couch, it became clear that the glass had come from the vase. Half of which was behind the couch, the other half, Daichi presumed, was scattered across the floor. They continued into the dining room. More glass, coming from what looked like wine or champagne glasses, was scattered over the floor along one of the walls. The table seemed untouched, except for a chair that had been pulled out and then never pushed back.

Daichi took a quick look into the kitchen on the way through the dining room, though it didn’t look like anything in there was disturbed. The group made their way into the back room, which had another television as well as more seating and a few gaming devices. The room was put together and clean until Daichi stepped around the couch. A woman’s body lay face first on the floor, blood soaked into the carpet. Besides her, was a lamp: its shade broken and bloodied, and its column indented on the side.

“Valencia Santana, according to the neighbors. As of now, no cause of death.”

Sighing, Daichi knelt next to the woman. “So the medical examiner hasn’t arrived?”

“Not yet,” the other captain said.

“Make sure someone tells me when they do.” 

Daichi turned his attention back to the dead woman. She was older, in her mid-forties at the earliest. Daichi was no expert, but it was clear what caused her death. Over her face and down her neck were bruises, and on the side of the skull was a hulking indent where she’d been attacked and battered. With a frown, Daichi stood up and looked over the group.

“Kei, get to filming the downstairs. I want a close-up of where this confrontation took place. Chikara, start handling evidence, Hajime, please look for any more clues as to the fight that took place, and Ryuu, take a look upstairs to make sure we don’t miss anything.”

“Like I said before, my men have already surveyed the house.”

Daichi turned to the police captain, chin up. He took a breath to steady himself, then spoke, “you called us in, I will have this done my way. I trust that you and your men inspected the house thoroughly, but it won’t hurt to get another pair of eyes on the property.” With a nod, his men split, while Daichi remained next to the older officer. It was like being a little kid again, standing next to someone who’s seen so much compared to you.

Blinking rapidly, Daichi cleared his head and returned the present. “Do you have any leads?”

“We have reason to suspect her husband, Hector Santana. There have been multiple domestic disturbance calls for this residence, and at least one filing for a domestic abuse charge. That charge was never followed up on.”

Frowning, Daichi looked back over the body of the woman. “And where is the husband?”

“We have reason to believe he fled the scene.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” The captain just blinked back at Daichi. “Fuck. Hajime!” The lieutenant appeared a second later. “They think the husband ran off. See if any of the other officers know anything else. If not, move to the neighbors. Get a car or a location, or something.”

“Yes, sir.” With that Hajime was gone once again.

Daichi turned back to the police captain. “Is there any other crucial information that you forgot to tell me or is that it?” When the captain didn’t reply, Daichi sighed and nodded. “Great. Go wait outside for the medical examiner, okay?”

The other captain looked grateful to get away, and Daichi turned back to the living room. Kei had moved on to the next room to film so Daichi was alone. He walked around the body once again and chewed at his bottom lip. At least they had a suspect this time, even if they didn’t know where he had gone. As long as they identified a car, the search would be pretty simple. Daichi pulled out his phone.

 

_ Wednesday 12:57pm _

**Me**

Look up Hector Santana and see what car he drives. The sooner the better.

_ Wednesday 12:58pm _

**Tadashi Yamaguchi**

On it

 

Daichi turned his attention back to the room when a familiar voice yelled across the house. “Daichi! You may want to come see this.”

With a grumble, he turned and started through the dining room, through the family room, doing his best not to step on the glass that Chikara was so carefully collecting, and to the stairs. Ryuu stood at the top of the stairs looking down.

“What?” Daichi didn’t mean to snap, but he had run out of patience for the day.

“You know how they said that they had looked everyone and found everything…”

The pit of Daichi’s stomach dropped and he started up the stairs two and a time. “What did you find?”

Once he met Ryuu at the top of the stairs, the detective turned and started down the hall. Daichi followed. They turned into a room painted a soft blue and purple. Ryuu stopped a door off to the side, presumably the closet, and pulled it open. Daichi peered inside, but instead of a body there was a small girl, curled in on herself and staring up at them as though she was looking at two grim reapers.

“She won’t talk and she won’t move,” Ryuu said, his voice oddly soft and almost delicate. “You’ve always been good with kids so…”

Daichi turned to the girl and crouched down so that he was at eye level with her. “Hey, we’re part of the police force,” he spoke slowly and gently. The girl just blinked back at him and pulled her legs closer to her chest. “We aren’t here to hurt you, we want to help you. So, will you come out? You don’t need to talk, you just can’t say in there.”

The girl swallowed and pressed further into the closet. Daichi sighed and turned to Ryuu. “Go grab some water and a blanket, I’ll stay up here with her. And Ryuu?” The detective stopped in the door. “Good job.”


	23. Trial - Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title of this chapter: "In which Daichi realizes how fucked he really is."  
> I hope you all are having a good day and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, I'm sorry about being slow about responding to comments. I've seen them I'm just swamped with school work at the moment.
> 
> TW: mentioned gangs and gang violence, talks of forced prostitution, anxiety attack, and mentions of child abuse

_ Thursday, June 23, 2016 _

_ 5:22 pm _

The elevator at the district attorney’s office was even slower than the elevator at the police department. It was like the machine knew that Koushi was in a rush and decided to mess with him. Or perhaps it was because he was in a rush that everything seemed slower. 

Koushi glanced at his watch again and frowned. He was now twenty-three minutes late. His stomach twisted at the thought and his body buzzed with a rush of energy. The elevator slowed at the appropriate floor, and the moment the doors opened Koushi was out and down the hall. When the hallway split into a T-intersection, he glanced at his phone and turned left. At the third door on his right, he stopped and gave a timid knock.

The door opened a second later, revealing a smiling Tooru. Koushi didn’t miss the dark shadows dusting the underside of the attorney’s eyes, but before he could ask or even open his mouth to apologize, he was ushered into a seat at a beautifully carved table, tucked away in the corner so that it overlooked the street.

“Tea?” Tooru asked as he walked over to a small counter and poured some steaming water into a cup.

“Uh… sure,” Koushi mumbled as he settled himself in the seat he was given, shifting his body slightly so that he could see the door through the corner of his eye. “I’ll take some green tea if you have any.”

After a quiet minute, Tooru set two mugs on the table along with a pile of papers. He slipped into the chair across from Koushi and offered him a bright smile. Koushi didn’t bother to force a smile back, only turned his attention to his tea and took a small sip.

After setting down the cup, he said, “I’m sorry for being late. The bus was delayed and-”

Tooru held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here now.”

“Right,” Koushi looked up from his cup. Tooru was watching him with careful eyes and it took a few steadying breaths for Koushi not to cower under the gaze. “So, what are we talking about today?”

Setting down his own drink, Tooru let out a sigh, one that Koushi couldn’t hear but could see in the lines of his shoulders and the rise and fall of the attorney’s chest. “I know it hasn’t been long, but I’m sure you’ve at least looked at the packet I gave you.” Koushi’s stomach twisted. After coming home from their meeting on Tuesday, Koushi had tossed the packet on his desk and hadn’t even looked at it. Thinking about his history being written out in front of him for other people to look over and whisper about made him sick.

Tooru watched him carefully and shook his head. “I figured that could be the case. Look, I’m trying to be gentle, trying to take this slow, but you can’t ignore this anymore or put it off any longer. It’s almost the end of June. By the beginning of August, we will be in court, and when that time comes you will be expected to talk about the White Lilies and your affiliation with them on the stand in front of a strict judge, a defense attorney who wants to tear you to shreds, twelve strangers who are judging you from the moment you walk into that courtroom, and whoever else is there to watch you testify.”

A sudden weight pressed against Koushi’s chest, and for a moment he thought it would cave in on his lungs. “What do you mean by ‘whoever else is there?’ ”

“This isn’t juvenile court,” Tooru said after taking a sip of his own drink. “An open courtroom is part of the criminal justice system. Supporters of either side, Reporters, random citizens, they can all come and watch the trial. You should expect to see some observers. Members of the White Lilies will no doubt be there to support their fellow gang member and try to intimidate you, and there will be at least one or two reporters. This is a high profile case after all.”

“H-high profile?” Koushi stammered. “Why haven’t I seen anything on the news?”

Tooru snorted and raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t seen  _ anything _ on the news? I suppose it isn’t on that much, but some local channel covers it at least once a week. You might not see yourself on there, for your own safety we haven’t released your identity yet, but the case is mentioned. It’s a big gang case, and one of the first against the White Lilies. Of course, it’s high profile. Not nationally, but certainly statewide.”

The very thought of people watching him on television made Koushi’s skin crawl and stomach twist and knot. He pushed his tea away, unsure if he’d be able to stomach anymore and sat back in his chair, eyes down and locked on his hands as he picked at a hangnail. A high profile case. He tried to think back to the newspaper or the television he and Rosa watched together. But in the past weeks, Koushi had been spending more time out or locked in his room. When was the last time he had actually sat down and watched the news or done more than glance at the L.A. Times?

After another moment, Tooru let out a sigh, an audible one this time. “What you say, what you do, it’s all going to be on the news in the coming months. You don’t have anything to worry about now, but when that happens I will be asking Officer Kozume and Officer Kuroo to watch you again.”

“That won’t be nec -”

“Yes, it will.” Tooru’s voice was quiet but firm. He gave Koushi a look that was almost apologetic. “You’re testifying against a gang. The moment they find out who you are, they will try to kill you. They’ve already tried once. The next time they try, I doubt they’ll hold back. You are the only person who can testify to this man’s crimes. Despite the terrible things Tomi Murtas has done, he will receive as fair a trial as any other convicted criminal. Until  _ we _ prove that he is guilty beyond reasonable doubt, he is as innocent as anyone else. The only way we can lock that man up for the rest of his natural life is if you testify, and testify well. The jury has to believe every single thing that comes out of your mouth, which is why we are here, why I am here. I will help you testify, but in order to do that, you have to be willing to help  _ me _ . Do you understand that?”

Koushi returned to studying his hands. The idea of opening up and speaking about what he had gone through made him sick. It twisted his insides and made his head spin and pound. But nothing was ever done for free. If Koushi wanted Tomi gone, he’d need to do something to make that happen.

Letting out a small breath, Koushi closed his eyes and let himself imagine what it would look like if Tomi Murtas was behind bars, what it would be like to watch him walk away in handcuffs. Koushi could see him, walking down a hall a police officer on either side, hands locked behind his back. He would turn and glare at Koushi, and Koushi would just smile in return, beam actually. The thought caused his heart to thump and limbs to buzz with new energy. The only problem was that in order for Tomi to be locked up, he had to open up. No more lies, no more hiding, no more ignoring the past and looking only to the future. He could keep all of that from Shouyou and Rosa and the others, but he couldn’t hide it in court.

“Fine,” Koushi said through gritted teeth. The more he thought about Tomi Murtas behind bars, the more energy bubbled through his veins. He looked up and met Tooru’s gaze. “Promise me that Tomi Murtas will end up behind bars and I’ll do anything you ask.”

A cold smirk crossed Tooru’s lips, and the attorney practically beamed. It was the first real smile Koushi had seen on him, it didn’t just light up his eyes is lit the rest of his face. It was like Tooru was a different person. He seemed bigger, ready, and able to do anything. “I promise you, that man will  _ rot _ in prison once this case is over.” 

The conversation ended there. Tooru opened the file in front of him and began to go over every detail, making sure that what was written there was true and then changed it and played with the wording to make it more powerful. The next thing they looked at was the direct examination. Tooru had described the direct examination as Koushi telling the story with Tooru’s guidance. The more Koushi looked over the questions the more it felt like they were putting on a verbal play.

It was strange to describe what happened to him. Even after weeks of meeting with Dr. Bokuto and talking about what happened in the past it still made Koushi’s head spin and his throat run dry. His hands shook and his mind fogged with each question. After going through maybe eight or nine questions, Tooru stopped. 

Once five minutes had passed, Tooru started the questioning again from the beginning. They had to get through it at least once. Tooru insisted that it would get easier each time they talked. Koushi wasn’t so sure that would be the case, but as Tooru reminded him, if this exhausted him, wait until cross-examination when the other attorney would try and poke holes in his story and rip apart every claim.

“Daishou is going to try to paint you as a lying, cowardly whore,” Tooru said during another five-minute break. “You need to win over the jury before then, and in order to do that you need to get comfortable with talking. I’m not saying to lose the emotion, emotion is good, juries  _ love _ emotion, but you can’t just shut down. That’s not going to work in court.”

Koushi leaned back in the chair. He knew that, or at least he thought he understood that. But the idea of winning any group of people over with a story about how he sold his body and lived in a small, run-down apartment didn’t seem very likely. Rubbing his eyes, Koushi found himself blinking towards the wall where a clock hung. It was almost ten o’clock. Looking from the wall to the window, Koushi suddenly realized that it had grown dark, and the only light that came in was from other buildings and from street lamps below.

“It’s almost ten,” Koushi mumbled.

“Oh… I didn’t even realize the time,” Tooru looked from Koushi to the clock.

Koushi hadn’t noticed either, but now that they had paused he realized how exhausted and hungry he was. He hadn’t moved from his chair, maybe shifted here and there but not much, and yet he was weary to the bone. He took another glance at the clock. “I should probably get going.”

“Yes,” Tooru rose from his chair, “I’m sorry for keeping you.”

“It’s fine.”

“Do you need a ride? I’m not sure the busses are still going.”

Koushi shook his head. “It isn’t too far from here to the restaurant, I’ll be fine. Thank you for the offer though.”

“Of course. Have a safe walk back.”

“Thank you.” Koushi stopped and hovered by the door for a second. He turned and watched Tooru clear the table and place the documents back on the shelf then plop back in his desk. Koushi frowned slightly. “Shouldn’t you go home?”

Tooru brushed the words off with a wave of his hand. “It’s fine. I just have a few more things to finish up. We’ll talk later, okay? I’ll text you when we should meet next.”

“Of course. Goodnight, Tooru.”

Tooru looked up and smiled. “Good night, Koushi.”

The elevator ride down to the lobby seemed faster than the initial ride up. When the elevator stopped and the doors rolled open, Koushi stepped out into a dimly lit lobby. As he walked to the entrance, Koushi looked over to the receptionist’s desk, ready to force a tired smile and offer a wave or a nod, but no one was there to wish him a good night or a safe walk home. The computer was powered down and dark, a sign that the woman who greeted him had been gone for a while. It was strange stepping out of the building and onto the quiet but busy street, but perhaps that was because he was used to the woman at the police headquarters who, for all Koushi knew, slept in the chair she worked at.

With the sun gone, the street had cooled off slightly, but the air was still warm a dry. That had always been the best part of Southern California, the warm nights. They were never hot, just pleasant, and the breeze that came with them was a cherry on top. 

After a quick glance around, Koushi started down the street, suddenly aware of its emptiness. Sure, cars still rumbled by, they always would no matter the hour, but there were few people walking the streets, especially in this part of the city where most of the buildings were office space. There was a second when the quietness took him back to that night with Yui and his heart jumped. He remembered what Tooru had said – people still wanted him dead. He’d seen the proof of that. A gun to his head had been enough to convince him that the White Lilies still remembered his name and his face. With a short exhale, Koushi forced away the thoughts and started down the sidewalk.

Koushi was a block away when a shadow jumped in the corner of his gaze. His eyes snapped to the movement, but the wall was still. He shifted his gaze across the street. A group of three women walked the opposite direction, but walking parallel to him was a man in a beanie. He kept walking as Koushi fell still.

Blood swirled through his ears, and for a moment the only sound Koushi was aware of was the heavy thuds of his heart against his ribs. The stranger made it to the end of the block, then turned right and vanished out of sight. Swallowing the weight on his tongue, Koushi started off again, down the block. 

The shadows continued to dance around him as he walked, but Koushi ignored them and focused on putting one foot in front of the other, walking to the beat set by his quickening heart. A few blocks away from the police headquarters were where restaurants began, and the street suddenly became more crowded. Before, when he was one of four or five people on the sidewalk, it had been easy to keep track of everyone around him, even those behind him. Now there were too many bodies and the extra movement that made it nearly impossible to track anyone or notice  _ everyone _ . The very thought caused the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms to rise.

Someone, an excited individual, maybe a young person who’d had too much to drink, brushed against him and Koushi flinched, jerking away from the contract. He sidestepped the rest of the loud party, only to bump into another person walking in the opposite direction. Koushi squeaked out an apology, dropped his head, and pushed forward through the people. They seemed to drawn closer the farther along he went.

His breaths were quick and shallow and with each step his head spun a little bit more. Another shadow flickered over a bar window and Koushi’s head snapped over his shoulder, but there were too many shapes moving, too many people, too many eyes. He was sure one of them was watching him, waiting for him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt their weight, but without Kenma or Tetsurou, he couldn’t be sure. He ducked his head once more, ignoring the roll of his stomach as he marched forward.

How many more blocks until he reached the restaurant? He wasn’t sure. Koushi looked around. He wasn’t even sure where he was anymore. Something warm passed over the back of his neck. The Santa Ana wind or the breath of someone standing a little too close? He didn’t know. Either way, a chill ran down his spine and pricked across his skin. The back of his head burned with the weight of unseen eyes, and Koushi looked over his shoulder again. People continued to mill about, laughing and talking a bit too loudly. A couple drew near and Koushi flinched back, turning his gaze to the street sign, but he couldn’t place where he was. He couldn’t focus enough. He couldn’t think. Everything was swimming in dizzying fear.

Between two of the buildings was a shallow indent where the walls met. Koushi pushed himself into the indent, struggling to control his breath. He closed his eyes to block out the movement and the shadows, but with one sense down the others only grew more acute. Every noise seemed louder. Every voice was both impossibly close and unreasonably far. People were everywhere, their numbers doubling with every laugh. The wind picked up again, running over the street, and the feeling of hands and sensual touches crawled up his arms and legs like bugs.

Without waiting another moment, Koushi pulled out his phone and flipped to his very limited number of contacts. Shouyou was much too far away to call; besides, he didn’t even have a car. And though Asahi could drive, the man was either asleep already or just starting another long shift at the hospital. Koushi didn’t want to bother either of them. Keiji was an option, but the very thought of Keiji seeing him like this made Koushi nauseous. 

For a moment, his finger hovered over Rosa’s name. Any other night, any other day he might have called her. But he couldn’t stomach the idea of her calm but probing questions or her soft but lingering hugs, or her constant touches. Even worse was the idea that she would come and do nothing but give him a wide girth and barely meet his eyes.

Leaning back against the wall, Koushi struggled to catch his breath. It was like he had been running a marathon. Or maybe he was drowning. He closed his eyes, shoved his phone in his pocket, and was about to run his hands down his face when something, stiff but smooth poked his thumb. He tugged on it and found himself looking down at a half crumpled business card, snug against his phone. Unfolding it with shaking fingers Koushi stared at the number.

Before he could think or doubt he dialed.

 

* * *

 

_ Thursday, June 23, 2016 _

_ 10:17 pm _

Daichi stared down at the report and then back up at the older woman across from him. “I’m sorry for keeping you so late,” Daichi said after a moment.

The woman sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

Rising from behind his desk, Daichi walked across his office. With a small frown, the woman rose after him. Together, they stopped at the door and shared another quiet sigh. As she passed him, she paused and handed him a small business card. “In case you need anything else. I also wrote down a few other numbers of some child psychologists, hopefully you’ll have more luck with them.”

“Yeah… hopefully.” Opening the door for the woman, Daichi stepped to the side and let her exit into the main office, following her once she left the room. “Goodnight and thank you again, Doctor.”

The woman brushed his words off with a wave of her hand and another shake of her head. “It’s nothing, Captain Sawamura. I’m sorry again, and I wish you the best of luck with this case. My best recommendation is to find someone younger. Perhaps, she’ll open up to them.”

Nodding, Daichi followed her down the hall until it turned towards the elevators. “We’ll try it. If something happens I’ll let you know. Have a good evening.”

“Good night, you mean.” The woman corrected.

“Yes, good night.”

The moment she was gone, the strained smile left his face and Daichi stepped back into the main room and turned to look at the whiteboard, which had been flipped around to make room for this case. Three pictures hung from the board: a smiling woman with dark hair, a man frowning into the camera, and the third picture was that of a small girl, laughing at the flower in her hand. Had that picture not been from official family records, Daichi would have never guessed the little girl in that picture was the same little girl Ryuu found in the closet.

Since they had picked up her, she hadn’t spoken a single word. Upon seeing her that morning, Tooru had laughed and called her a mini Koushi Sugawara before leaving in a rush. Sure she had the same round face, light hair, and dark eyes as Suga, but at least Suga had responded to the questions they had asked, even if the responses had been vague. Since finding her, she hadn’t opened her mouth. In fact, the only reason they knew her name was Felicity Santana was because Tadashi had done some digging and found the family records.

Felicity hadn’t spoken since her discovery, not to them, not to the care workers who came to find a place for her to stay, not to the three child psychologists Daichi had called in to try and comfort her. At first, Daichi had thought it was just the police or maybe even just men. But while she didn’t shake nearly as much around women, she still didn’t open her mouth. She remained quiet and watchful. The only hints that she understood anything of what was going on were the minute shifts in her expression when food or water was brought up and the sudden fear when Yuu had accidentally said her father’s name. But even then, she never whimpered, never cried, only sat, staring off into space as tremors wracked her body.

Shock, the first psychologist said. She was supposed to get over it with food, water, a warm blanket, and a good night’s sleep. When she came in that morning, she looked worse. The second psychologist said that it was selective mutism, probably from bouts of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. If she found comfort and safety she would open up. The third agreed for the most part but went further, saying that it was unlikely she’d speak anytime soon.

The problem was, they couldn’t sit back and wait, not when her father had vanished. For all Daichi knew, the man had already left the state. No one knew where he had gone. And while they had a car they were looking for, and a description to go by, they didn’t have a lead. Or they did, but she wasn’t talking.

Pulling his eyes away from the board, Daichi stomped back into his office. He sunk into his chair and looked over the three psychologist reports. This was the second major case that had a possible witness who refused to speak, and Daichi was close to putting his head through a window. But before he could get to that point, his phone rang.

Glancing at the time, Daichi groaned and picked up the phone, answering the call without glancing at the number. “This better be important, Tooru. I’m tired and am in no mood to deal with your shit right now.”

“S-sorry. If this is a bad time...” the voice on the other end faltered and faded out.

Daichi looked up from glaring at his papers and blinked twice. “Suga?”

“Y-you know… it’s not r-really important. I’ll just-”

“Suga, hold on!” Daichi did his best not to scream or yell or speak too loudly into the receiver. Not when his mind was still trying to process who was on the other end of the line. While his heart did somersaults in his chest, his mind was trying to catch up and make sense of the situation. “Slow down,” Daichi said, taking a deep breath himself.

“No,” the voice on the other end trembled, and Daichi wondered if Suga had just been running. He sounded out of breath. “If you’re b-busy I don’t want to b-bother you.”

“You’re no bother.”  _ Never a bother. _ “But what’s going on, is everything okay?”

There was a pause at the other end, and for a moment Daichi was sure he could hear the gears in Suga’s mind twisting, tumbling, and clattering together.

“Suga, is everything alright?”

“Y-yes. I’m fine! Everything is fine.”

Frowning, Daichi leaned back in his chair, pocketing his keys, and slipping the gun in the second draw of his desk into the holster attached to his belt. “Everything doesn’t sound fine.” Daichi made sure to speak slowly and keep his voice calm, though his mind was racing and there was a buzzing in his limbs. He stood up slowly and started towards the door of his office. “Can you tell me what’s going on so that I can help you?”

There was another pause, but this one was louder and filled with Suga’s labored breaths. Daichi forced himself to stay quiet and hover in the door over his office. By now, Chikara must have heard him or sensed that something was off because he looked up from his desk and watched Daichi with a raised eyebrow. Daichi shook his head and turned his attention back to the phone. He was about to ask if Suga was still there when he heard a deep breath.

“I th-think someone is following me. Actually, I-I don’t know. Th-there’s a lot of them and movement and I can’t see everyone and-”

“Where are you right now.” Daichi’s chest constricted and he pushed himself out of his door and down the hallway.

“Uh… I don’t really know. I’m by some bar, I think… I don’t recognize it.”

“What is that bar called?” Daichi met Chikara’s gaze and beckoned the man over with a wave of his hand.

“The Tipsy Crow… I think…”

The Tipsy Crow was just a few blocks away, actually. It was the prime restaurant and bar that the gang all went to if they had a reason to celebrate or just needed to get drunk. He could walk there. In fact, it was probably faster if he did.

“I’ll be over in a few minutes, do you want anyone else or-”

“J-just you. Please. I don’t… this isn’t a b-big deal. I just…” Though his voice died away the meaning was there and clear, and the tingling in Daichi’s chest turned into a dull ache.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes okay. Do you want me to stay on the line?”

“N-no. Th-that won’t be necessary.”

“Alright,” Daichi nodded at no one. “I’ll see you in a few. Call me if you need anything else.”  He set the phone down and looked up to meet the gaze of a very puzzled Chikara. “I need to step out for a little while. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Can you and Hajime watch over everything and close up when you’re done?”

Before Chikara made any affirmation, Daichi turned and started down the hall towards the elevator.

“Do you need anything else?” Chikara asked.

“Not now. I’ll call if I do.”

Daichi was in the elevator and then the lobby faster than he thought. It was as if the elevator knew he was in a rush and decided to take pity. He nodded to the receptionist at the front desk and was out the door and down the street a moment later. The Tipsy Crow wasn’t far away from the station, which meant it wasn’t that far from Rosa’s restaurant, so Daichi found it odd that Suga was lost. But night could be confusing, especially if one was in a panic.

The closer he got to the bar, the more packed the street became. Since it happened to be a Thursday, the number of people out was lower, but it was still considerably more crowded than the other areas a few streets over. As he neared the bar, Daichi slowed. Finding Suga wasn’t as hard as he had imagined. For someone who had slipped through the police’s fingers five years ago, he stood out now, alone and tucked in on himself against a wall, just a few feet from the front door of the bar.

Daichi moved through the crowds, scanning the people as he passed. No one stood out. There were some loud ones, generally younger people in groups. There were some quiet ones, singles moving along or couples whispering to each other. But no one that screamed suspicion. Suga was doing all he could to keep his eyes on his phone or his feet. For the most part, he looked like a young man waiting for a friend or a loner who’d only had a single beer. It wasn’t until he was closer that Daichi noticed Suga’s erratic breathing in the shallow rises and falls of his chest that followed no specific pattern.

Daichi reached the man’s side, but Suga hadn’t looked up or shown any indication that he even knew Daichi was there. He just continued to stare at his phone, which now that Daichi was close enough to look at, was just a blank, black screen.

When Suga didn’t look up after Daichi cleared his throat. When that didn’t work he reached forward.

Suga flinched away, pressing himself further against the wall before Daichi’s hand even reached his arm. His eyes snapped to Daichi, and his mouth opened slightly but Daichi took the chance to speak. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Another loud group past and Daichi pressed himself against the wall, while Suga went out of his way to not be brushed by stray elbows or wild bags. Suga looked like he wanted to speak, but someone else yelled something from up the street causing him to flinch and curl in on himself even more.

“Let’s find a quieter place to talk.”

Suga didn’t respond, but there was a sudden softness in his eyes. It lasted a second before Daichi turned and led the way through the crowds. Suga stayed two steps behind, head bent and shoulders hunched, doing his best to stay in Daichi’s shadow. One block up and two streets over, and it was already quieter. People continued to walk by in small clusters, but they weren’t loud nor were they boisterous. Still, Daichi was careful to scan the area as they moved, but no one stood out.

They came to a bus stop, empty of crowds and free of any homeless men or women. Daichi sat down at one end of the cement bench and Suga curled into the other, pulling a knee up to his chest and resting his forehead against it. For a while, they sat in silence. Instead of trying to talk, Daichi chose to watch Suga catch his breath. He wasn’t even sure what to say. He had known that he had to come, but now that he was here his mind was empty. His chest ached for Suga, but he wasn’t sure what to do to help. He wasn’t sure he could help. He could listen then maybe do what he did for his sister, for Tooru, for Hajime, for any of his team when they were having a rough day. But aside from that, what help could he be? As Tooru said all those weeks ago, he wasn’t a psychologist.

He pushed his thoughts away, using that energy to keep his attention on Suga. His breathing had slowed and stabled, but he hadn’t looked up or at Daichi since they had met again for the first time in three weeks – not including the terribly awkward dinner that Daichi would rather forget about.

“How are you feeling?” Daichi finally asked, when it looked like Suga had calmed down enough to catch his breath.

Suga glanced up from his curled position. His eyes flashed and his jaw loosened like there was something he wanted to say, but the words never came. Daichi sat and waited. As much as he would have liked to move the conversation along, he knew better than to push someone into talking when they were looking for the words or trying to think of a sentence.

After a moment, Suga finally sighed and turned his attention to something in front of him. “You can go. I’m sorry for dragging you out here over something so… ridiculous.”

“This isn’t ridiculous,” Daichi said lightly. “You’re allowed to be scared, especially after everything that’s happened.”

“No one was even following me…” Suga mumbled.

“You don’t know that.”

Suga threw him a look, something that resembled a glare but without the bite.

“If you thought you were being followed, that’s just as real as if you were,” Daichi reached forward, perhaps to rub Suga’s arm, or just to rest a warm hand on his shoulder, but Suga recoiled, drawing in on himself and pushing up against the side of the bench. No touching, Daichi would have to remember that.

Suga stared ahead, eyes flickering between the shops across the street and the ground a few feet in front of him. His hand had fallen together, and he picked at one of the stumps that made up a nail. Daichi wondered if Suga was aware of his habit, or would always look down and find his fingernails broken and littered with blood.

A few more minutes of silence ticked by, and Daichi leaned back against the cement bench, which was getting less and less comfortable. Turning back to Suga, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it, or would you rather just go home?”

There was a moment’s pause and then Suga blinked and looked back at Daichi, as if just noticing he was there for the first time. “I…” Suga sucked in a breath and let his head fall once more. “Can we just walk? I don’t… I’d rather not head back just yet.”

With a nod, Daichi rose and Suga did the same. There was a second where their eyes met and they just stared at one another. Daichi was reminded of their first interactions in that barren interview room when Suga had been nothing more than a crucial witness with deep brown eyes that Daichi couldn’t ignore.

Suga’s eyes were dark now, filled with what had to be fear and worry and something else Daichi couldn’t name, but Daichi was sure that if he looked long enough he could find the familiar flick of hope and confidence somewhere in them. Suga turned and started walking before Daichi had the chance to do so.

They walked side by side with a foot and a half between them. Daichi let Suga lead him down the streets, some illuminated by the lights of buildings and cars, and others dark, quiet and deserted. Sometimes when they rounded a corner, Suga would pause for half a second and glance over his shoulder. Other times a car would rumble by and Suga would flinch away from something Daichi couldn’t see. But with every step, he seemed to grow calmer, his eyes up instead of staring at the cracks in the ground.

“I’m glad I didn’t bring my jacket,” Daichi said after deciding that he no longer enjoyed the thick silence. Daichi would talk, and if Suga wanted to reply he could. If he wanted to listen, he could do that too. “It’s nice out tonight.”

“It’s been nice out most nights,” Suga replied, still looking ahead.

“I suppose it has,” Daichi mumbled. He glanced over, watching Suga as he watched something else in the distance. “What are you thinking about?”

Suga’s gaze snapped to Daichi and the police captain’s chest constricted slightly. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

“I was just…” Daichi sighed. “I was wondering what you were thinking about. Sometimes it’s better to let it all out. Maybe then you can make sense of what you’re feeling.”

Suga raised an eyebrow and let his gaze linger on Daichi for another few steps. “Are you sure you aren’t secretly a psychologist.”

Daichi snorted and shook his head. “No, I’m just good friends with Koutarou. I also have a little sister, so I learned the art of listening early one.”

For a moment, Daichi was sure that Suga’s eyes softened at the mention of a sibling, but then his head turned and he was looking forward once again. “How old is she?”

“Twenty-six, and she’s actually taller than I am, so I guess she’s not exactly little anymore,” Daichi laughed at the thought and in the corner of his eye he thought he saw a hint of a smile. It was gone by the time he turned to look at Suga.

Suga was already looking back at him and Daichi’s stomach did some form of acrobatics, which was not as unpleasant a feeling as he would have thought. “She sounds like a handful. What’s she like?”

Daichi turned to watch where he was walking as opposed to staring at the man next to him. “A pain in the ass if I’m to be honest. Loud, never knows when to leave someone alone, a bit nosy and temperamental. She’s pretty athletic though and can be a lot of fun if you catch her in a good mood. She plays pro-volleyball now, and I think that helps her burn some of that excess energy. What about you?”

Suga raised an eyebrow again and Daichi’s stomach dropped. He was already aware that Suga didn’t have siblings, or if he did they either were gone or didn’t care, and whichever it was the little red-head who came in a few weeks ago had made it pretty clear that Suga didn’t like to talk about his family.

“What was that?”

“What about you,” Daichi tripped over his words as he struggled to recover, “do you play any sports? Have any hobbies?”

Suga snorted. “Do I look like a sports person?” Daichi flushed but before he could respond Suga continued. “I played volleyball in high school but…” there was a pause were Suga took a breath as though to steady himself, “I don’t play anymore, I don’t have the time between studying and working. If I had to choose a hobby I guess… taking pictures? I started doing it a few years back and it kind of stuck.”

“That’s neat,” Daichi supplied, because he knew jack-shit about photography and wasn’t really going to pretend he did.

Shrugging, Suga continued, “I’m no expert but it’s something to do in those rare moments of free time.”

Daichi hummed in way of response.

“What about you?” Suga asked almost tentatively. “Have any hobbies?”

With a dry chuckle, Daichi shook his head. “Not really. I’ll play volleyball with the guys occasionally, but most of my time is dictated by my work.”

“Right… I guess you never really get a break.”

Daichi could have admitted that he never liked taking a break, but instead he shrugged. “It’s all part of the job.”

“I see… any new cases?”

“There are always new cases,” Daichi grumbled.

There was a soft breath, almost like the start of a laugh, and Daichi’s head snapped to Suga, but the other man continued to look forward as they walked on. “I meant, are there any new  _ interesting _ cases?”

“One, I guess, but it’s not interesting, more annoying if I’m so be honest.”

“What’s going on?”

Daichi glanced over at Suga. Was it wise to talk about a murder with someone who had almost been shot a few weeks ago? But Suga’s gaze, while still swirling with trepidation and darkness, also shined with curiosity. Daichi let out an exhaustive sigh. It wasn’t like Suga was going to tell anyone anyway. “Yesterday afternoon, we got a call from the LAPD. They’d gone to check out a report of a possible disturbance, found a dead woman in a wrecked house, and promptly turned the case over to us. We ran a primary investigation which points to the husband, because, to quote a popular district attorney that I’m sure you’re all too familiar with, ‘it’s always the husband.’ The problem is, we don’t know where the husband went, and the one person who could tell us any information isn’t very… forthcoming.”

“Oh,” something flashed across Suga’s gaze, and he dropped his eyes back to the concrete. “I guess that it’s hard when a witness avoid questions, isn’t it?”

Daichi sighed and tried not to mentally – or physically – kick himself. He hadn’t expected Suga to feel guilty over not talking to them, after all the case had been solved and was now going to trial.

“It is,” Daichi said after a moment, deciding that honesty was the best route in this situation. “But if the witness is talking, they will eventually tell you something useful. It’s when they aren’t talking altogether that poses a problem.” Suga looked up, clearly puzzled. Daichi continued, “Our witness now hasn’t said so much as a word, and she might be the only one to know where he is.”

“That’s… not good,” Suga said after a moment.

“No it is not,” Daichi agreed all too readily. “So… any interesting patrons recently?”

Suga shrugged. “What do you consider interesting?”

“Rude old men, snarky women, that one person who finds something wrong with every dish,” Daichi listed.

“You get those kind of people every day in foodservice,” Suga replied, looking anything but amused, though Daichi didn’t feel too bad because there was a new light to his eyes.

“I guess we did have this one person come in,” Suga started on a story about a middle-aged man who had come into the restaurant and tired to pay with coupons. He continued with more stories about various breakups and birthdays that he had experienced over the five years he worked at Rosalinda’s.

When Suga stopped talking he stopped walking as well, pausing at the corner of a street. When he turned, the light from a nearby streetlamp illuminated his face and made his hair glow. It was like there was light radiating from Suga. Daichi’s breath left him and for a moment all he wanted to do was close the foot and a half between them, run a hand through Suga’s silver hair and-

Daichi stopped himself there, eyes going wide before he looked away just as his face warmed. What was he doing? Suga was a client, someone he was testifying for in trial, and maybe now… he was a friend. Daichi looked to the street sign and then pulled out it phone. It was just past eleven. “It’s pretty late, you ready to head back?”

Suga blinked and glanced at his wrist where a nice but worn watch blinked up at him. “Oh, it is late. I hadn’t even noticed. I guess I should head back,” he replied.

“I’ll walk you home.” Before Suga could complain, Daichi started down the street.

The walk back was peaceful but filled with bits of trivial conversation, and Daichi wouldn’t have had it any other way. He was thankful for the conversation, happy to keep his mind focused on choosing his words as to not let it wander back to whatever he had been feeling under that streetlamp. His heart convulsed at the thought of it.

A few blocks later, the pair found themselves in front of a dark  _ Rosalinda’s Pizzas and Pastas _ . Daichi stopped at the fence, while Suga walked up to the front door and fished a key out from his pocket.

“Thank you,” Suga said, his soft voice almost lost over the rattling of an old door. “This was very… helpful.”

“It’s fine, it was nothing.”

“No, really,” Suga turned around, watching Daichi was a seriousness that the police captain had not been expecting. “Thank you and I’m sorry for keeping you out so late.”

Daichi shook his head. “I needed to get out of the office.”

There was another little breath – the start of another laugh, maybe – and while the laugh never came, a soft smile did. The smile was small, but it lit up Suga’s face and warmed his eyes, and Daichi was sure that he was either going to melt right there or combust due to his heart jumping in his chest and his stomach fluttering and bubbling. He found himself smiling back as Suga turned and vanished into the darkened restaurant with one last quiet goodbye.

For a moment, Daichi stood on the sidewalk, staring at the door. With a soft and airy sigh, he turned and started down the street. With each step a new image rose in his mind: a soft smile, a quiet breath, wide curious eyes. But his mind kept going back to the smile. It wasn’t nearly as bright as the one Daichi remembered from the photo of younger Suga, but it was just as illuminating and seemed to make Suga even more beautiful than he already was.

Daichi stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as his stomach dropped and cheeks flared. The thought hit him like a bus, and he was thankful that he was alone as he stared at the empty street across from him.

_ Well…  _ Daichi thought, _ I’m fucked. _


	24. Trial - Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to another chapter I actually remember of post! I have three essays to write but I figured I could take a break and update this real quick. Hope you all enjoy and had safe and happy weeks! (Also, the fluff is coming I promise and... I'm sorry.)
> 
> TW: minor anxiety and mentions of child abuse

_ Friday, June 24, 2016 _

_ 9:42 am _

The morning had been fairly busy, which saved Koushi the trouble of having to find things to busy himself with. One of the kitchen staff was sick, which meant there was more preparation that needed to get done before the restaurant opened. Between setting up tables in the front and helping to prep in the back, Koushi wasn’t given any time to stop and think. Or to talk about last night.

He’d come home late, which wouldn’t have been a problem if he were someone who stayed out late often. When he had arrived home Rosa had been waiting in the front, watching some late-night television show that she usually taped. She didn’t say anything but there was a sparkle in her eyes, the kind that meant a question lay on her tongue. The moment she looked at him though she fell silent, only gave him a small – forced, as was now common – smile and then returned to watching her show, leaving Koushi confused and conflicted.

That morning he’d done all he could to avoid being around her. She was up before he was, though he had long been awake, staring at his ceiling and thinking, always thinking. He listened, and when she was downstairs he was up, prepping for the day. Once he was working, if she was in the kitchen he was out front setting tables or cleaning countertops. When she went out to take a call or to help reorganize something, he was back in the kitchen chopping and prepping dishes.

By ten, the lunch staff had begun filing in, and Koushi took a spot in the kitchen, they had enough hosts, hostesses, and waiters up front. He worked silently and quickly, eyes on the glinting blade between his fingers as he sliced one pepper and then another. The beauty of cutting was that it forced him to concentrate and be in the moment.

A figure appeared to his right, and Koushi continued to chop and slice, ignoring the sudden warmth at his side. “Tesoro.” The name pulled him from his cutting and the knife slipped through the bell pepper at an angle. He pulled his hand back quickly, narrowly avoiding the blade and turned to the woman beside him, two trays of newly cleaned glasses balancing on her side.

Rose met his gaze with a set jaw and strong eyes. “Help me carry these glasses.”

Her words left little room for negotiation. He passed the pepper onto the next station, took one of the trays, and followed Rosa out into the empty restaurant. They started at parallel tables, setting the glasses in place before moving on to the next table. They worked in silence. Only the sound between them was the occasional chime of glass.

“How are you feeling?” Rosa asked, seemingly out of nowhere. “You looked a little worn last night.”

It wasn’t her words that got Koushi, it was the tone. It was harder than what he was used to, almost accusatory but not quite. He wanted to blame it on the tiredness that showed in the sagging lines of her face, but he couldn’t, not really.

“I’m fine,” he snapped. He didn’t mean for the bitterness to come out but it did. Maybe it was because he was tired as well.

He moved onto the next table, placing the glasses down with a little too much force so that they clanked, just barely, against the table. He could feel Rosa’s heavy gaze on the back of his head, trying to burrow into his thoughts. With a roll of his shoulders, he ignored it and moved onto the next table.

“You said your meeting with Mr. Oikawa,” Koushi didn’t miss the spite with which she said Tooru’s name, “was supposed to only go until eight. You were back at eleven. What happened?”

For a moment he considered telling her about what happened, about Daichi. But the moment his mind crossed to the police captain his throat constricted and his chest was suddenly two sizes too small, clenched tight around his rapidly beating heart. Daichi was… nice, and it set Koushi on edge. There had been a moment, when the stopped on a street corner and Koushi turned to see Daichi watching him and there had been electricity, like a spark, that danced between them.

Most nights he couldn’t sleep because of the guns and the hands - he’d close his eyes, relax, and suddenly there would be cold metal against his head and hot hands sliding down his sides. He’d wake up in a cold sweat, sometimes with the need to vomit. And while those dreams had woken him up yet again, it was Daichi’s kind smile and soft words that had kept him up.

It was unsettling, that man’s kindness and interest in Koushi. He’d begun to wonder if calling had been the right choice, but then again if he hadn’t he wasn’t sure if he would have made it back to the apartment at all. The more he thought about that smile, the more he thought of other smiles: the leers of his many clients, the grimaces of the prostitutes he worked with, the glowing grin of the man who locked him away, the smirk from all those weeks ago. They pooled and piled in Koushi’s head one after another, pounding against his temples like bass drums.

“I was out. It’s none of your business,” he turned and snapped. 

Rosa stilled for a moment, watching him with an expression he recognized and knew all too well. Disappointment. She didn’t try to hide it. It seeped across her face slowly, starting with a clench of her jaw, moving up through her cheekbones and across her eyes before ending with a single crease in her forehead. Rosa turned and started setting out the glasses again, and for a few seconds, Koushi watched her, waiting for her to say something to remind him that it  _ was _ her business, because he lived under her roof and he was family. But he wasn’t, not really. Family doesn’t lie for five years. Family doesn’t hide from themselves and use others to cover their tracks. Family is whole and warm and truthful and kind and clean, all the things Koushi wasn’t.

He set down the tray of glasses and opened his mouth, but words didn’t form. Chewing at his lips, he sat back and studied Rosa as she moved from one table to another, never looking back at him.   

“R-Rosa?” He voice shook.

Rosa stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Something in her eyes sparkled, but her expression was still grim. The words began to form and pile up on his tongue, but before he could say anything a sharp buzzing came from his back pocket and a light tinkling noise filled the space.

“Sorry,” Koushi mumbled, picking up the phone and moving around some of the tables to the other side of the room. “Hello?”

“Suga, thanks for picking up,” on the other end Daichi sounded relieved. For a moment Koushi considered hanging up and moving on, but before he could build the courage to say goodbye or even pull the phone away from his ear, Daichi continued, “Do you remember the witness I was talking about yesterday? The quiet one?”

Koushi nodded before remembering that nodding wasn’t helpful. “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you could help us?”

“Help you how?” Koushi said into the phone. “I’m sorry, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“You’re majoring in psychology, right?”

Koushi frowned at the question. “I’m thinking about it. Why? I’m not sure I understand-”

“I’ll explain everything when you get here. Could you come by?”

Koushi paused. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go back there. Even when he had been visiting Keiji he felt out of place. But thinking about last night and how Daichi dropped everything to come and pick him off the street… Koushi let out a soft huff.

“I’ll buy you lunch,” Daichi cut in before Koushi could respond. “Or dinner or… whatever…”

“I’ll be over soon,” Koushi said, choosing to ignore Daichi’s last statement.

There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. “Thank you so much, Suga.” Koushi could hear Daichi’s smile in each word and it sent something off across his skin.

“I-it’s no problem,” Koushi said while attempting to swallow whatever was trying to crawl up his throat. Koushi hoped that he sounded collected and put together.

After a few seconds the line went dead, and Koushi pulled his phone from his ear and slipped it into his pocket. He turned around after a second when he was sure that his face was less hot than it had been. He moved back towards the glasses, a heavy weight forming in his gut when he realized what he agreed to. He stopped at the table he had left off at but realized that the tray was gone.

“Who was that?” Rosa’s words were short and clipped. She now held two trays, both of which were empty.

“Dai… Captain Sawamura,” Koushi stammered and suddenly his face was aflame again. He turned quickly to start towards the  _ ‘employees only’ _ door. “They need me to them with… something, so I’m heading out. I’ll be back soon, hopefully.”

At the door, Koushi glanced over his shoulder. Rosa watched him with a frown and a dark expression Koushi couldn’t see clearly but certainly understood. He fucked up. The weight in his stomach dropped and his head spun. He should have said no. He should have told Daichi that he was busy. He shouldn’t have spread himself so thin. But he owed Daichi and he wanted to be useful, but he had work, he had things to do. There was no going back now.

Rosa started towards the kitchen, her expression half-hidden. “Just remember that you have class this evening,” she said, as though talking to a small child and it was Koushi’s turn to frown.

He spun on his heels and pushed open the door. As Rosa stepped into the kitchen, Koushi stepped into the hallway towards the stairs, each refusing to acknowledge the other.

 

* * *

 

_ Friday, June 24, 2016 _

_ 11:01 am _

Daichi was leaning over Chikara’s desk, talking with the lieutenant when the elevator dinged. His head snapped up and eyes turned to the hallway, and beside him, Chikara stopped typing and looked up from his computer. “Who’s that?”

“Suga’s here,” Daichi mumbled, starting towards the hallway.

“You actually called him!” Chakara yelled after him. “Are you sure this is a good idea. I mean professionals couldn’t get her to talk what makes you think-”

Suga rounded the corner and Chikara fell silent. Daichi found himself smiling, which was probably not the most appropriate reaction at the time considering that just five minutes ago he was contemplating putting his head through a wall, but it happened nonetheless. Suga stopped in front of him, clearly noted Daichi’s smile and returned the favor, though it was forced and did nothing to conceal the shadows under his eyes or the worry and anxiety swirling inside them.

“What did you need me for?”

“I was hoping that you could talk to the witness I mentioned last night.”

Suga gave him a skeptical look – for which Daichi couldn’t exactly blame him – but nodded anyway. “Right. I have class at five though, so I need to be out of here by four.”

“That’s fine,” Daichi turned and started towards the conference room, thankful to have a reason to look away from the Suga. When they passed the first one, he felt Suga bristle. “I know you don’t have a degree but people with doctorates couldn’t do anything so I thought… well, I hoped that someone closer to her age would be able to get her to open up a bit.”

They paused at the third final conference room. The blinds were pulled closed, but the window in the door was clear. Suga stopped and peered inside before gasping. “You never said she was a child!” Suga hissed, his voice suddenly quiet, as though he was worried that she would hear him through the door.

“I’m sorry?” Daichi stammered.

“Child psychology is not what I’m studying,” Suga glanced back through the window and frowned. “I’m not good with kids and I don’t… you probably don’t want me around them anyway.”

Daichi frowned at the words. He tried to read Suga’s expression, which was a grimace half-hidden behind a mask, but the other man turned away, shielding his eyes from Daichi’s gaze. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I thought… well, I figured you’d be good with kids. And every other psychologist we’ve hired as come up short. I’m not going to make you, but if you could that would be wonderful.”

He glanced back at Suga to find the other man watching him with a softened expression. Suga snorted before shooting him a dirty look. “You really do owe me dinner now.”

Before Daichi could reply or even really process the words, Suga pulled open the door and slipped inside. After a second of hovering by the window to watch Suga walk over and sit on the other end of the table, Daichi tore his gaze away and walked back down the hall. He stepped into the main office-space as another figure rounded the elevator-hallway corner.

“Daichi! Just the man I was looking for,” Tooru said brightly.

“What are you-?”

Tooru held up a thick stack of papers and Daichi groaned. More court dates and testimonies probably. “Who do I have to give the bad news to?” Daichi asked, gaze flickering from the paper to the attorney who was still smiling. Appearing in court was one of many officer’s worst nightmares. It pulled them off of the field for anywhere from one day to two weeks depending on the severity of the case and how long their testimony took.

“No one but yourself,” Tooru cackled, pushing the papers into Daichi’s chest.

Daichi caught them, barely, as Tooru pulled away. He made sure to send the attorney an unpleasant as he turned and started towards his office. Tooru followed one step behind. “What do you want?”

“I’d imagine that you’d like me to explain some of the testimonies?”

Daichi huffed and stepped into the office. “Fine.”

Once they were working, Daichi lost track of everything else. The rest of the documents on his desk ended up in a pile off to the side, even his computer was pushed over to make room for all the papers Tooru had brought There were two different summaries, one from the past case with Suga, Daichi hadn’t expected to testify in that but he wasn’t surprised that he was, and the case from five years ago that Suga had also witnessed. That one, he was more surprised about.

“You really think you can get a guy on a murder that took place five years ago and that has only one witness?”

Tooru glanced up from the file at his lap and glared over the top of his reading glasses. “Are you doubting me?”

“No, I’m just saying it’ll be hard-”

“It’s always hard,” Tooru said with a wave of his hand. “But as long as Suga testifies well, there’s no way Tomi Murtas won’t be locked away for the rest of his life.”

Daichi shook his head and turned his attention back to the document in front of him, “Whatever you say…”

It took another half an hour to go through all the direct examinations that Tooru had written. He always wrote multiple in order to see which one flowed more naturally. It made sense, but made practicing take longer than Daichi had the patience for. As soon as they finished the last one, Daichi flopped back in his chair and stared at the ceiling above him. His mind drifted to Suga. Daichi couldn’t help but wonder how he was doing and if he was having any luck with Felicity.

“So the rumor mill’s been running,” Tooru said as he packed up the documents.

Daichi hummed in response. The rumor mill was always running among branches sometimes stretching as far as SOB or the fire station. Daichi rarely heard anything from this so-called ‘rumor mill,’ but maybe that was because he never went looking for it. Tooru seemed to know it all. Ninety-nine percent of the time the rumors were uninteresting and unimportant, and therefore ninety-nine percent of the time Daichi didn’t give a shit.

“The office is saying that you were out pretty late last night, meeting with a certain restaurant worker.”

Then, of course, there was that one-percent of the time were Daichi gave a shit because the rumor somehow involved him.

“What?”

Tooru smirked. “You’re not denying it.”

“Well, no. It’s true but…” Daichi took a breath to clear his head and prayed that Tooru didn’t notice the red that was certainly dusting his cheeks. “What are they saying?”

“Nothing much,” Tooru shrugged and Daichi scowled at the lawyer. “Only that you received a call and were out of here within seconds and then came back pretty late.”

“How’d they know I met with Suga?”

“Oh, that was just a guess. Seems like I was right though!”

Daichi groaned. “Nothing happened just… Suga got scared. He thought someone was following him and called me. I met him a few blocks over, nothing seemed to be wrong but we walked around for awhile and talked, and then I walked him home. That was it.”

Tooru pouted. “That’s… rather boring. Wait. Suga was being followed?”

“He thought he was,” Daichi rolled his shoulders and glanced out the window. “I wasn’t going to take any chances, we are dealing with a gang and they’ve been awfully quiet as of late.”

Tooru nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Well, if that was it then I have nothing to worry about.” The lawyer stood abruptly and scooped the papers up in his arms, leaving a copy of everything on the coffee table. “Just… be careful Daichi. You’re both testifying and if the wrong person sees you together at the wrong time it could be bad. Please wait to act on any lingering feelings you have until after the trial.”

“Weren’t you the one telling me to loosen up a bit and go out?”

A sharp smile slid across the attorney’s face and Daichi’s gut flipped. “Of course I want you to go out and have fun, but to quote a certain police Captain ‘murder and life don’t go together.’ ”

Tooru moved to the door and pulled it open rather awkwardly. Daichi had risen to try and give Tooru a hand but the lawyer waved him off and pulled the door open before keeping it open with his hip. On the other side of the door was Suga, scowling, though his sharp frown turned into an awkward smile when his eyes landed on Tooru.

“Oh… uh…M-Mr. Oikawa, it’s nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you too, Koushi,” Tooru said, pressing back against the door to let Suga slip into the office. “We were just talking about you. Don’t have too much fun you two.” Before the door closed all the way, Tooru glanced over his shoulder and winked.

For what was certainly not the first time and would definitely not be the last, Daichi wondered what would happen if Tooru happened to fall out the window of the fifth floor.

“Can I come in?” Suga asked from beside the door.

Snapping out of his murderous fantasy, Daichi gestured to the chairs across from him. “Please sit down.”

The last time Suga sat across from him they had been with a handful of other people, planning a trap to spring on André, the man they who had been stalking Suga. The mission had been successful (if you count André ending up dead and success), though in the process it had almost gotten Suga killed. If it wasn’t for Keiji, Daichi wasn’t sure what would have happened.

“So,” Daichi said, preparing himself for the news to come. “How’d it go?”

“She didn’t say anything,” Suga started. “But I talked… at her I suppose and she drew and... Daichi, I think she was abused.”

“The second and third psychologists said the same thing.”

“I think it was her father.”

“Well yes, we presume so. What of it?”

Suga paused to stare at his hands for a moment. “I don’t think you should use her to find that man. Her father’s the one you’re looking for, right?”

“Yes, but how else are we supposed to find him?”

“Track his phone, trace his calls, see who he’s friends with and talk to them, go back to the house and see if you can find something there, I don’t know!” Suga groaned and such back in his chair. “You’re the police I’m sure you can find something that’s not some scared little girl who’s clearly been through more than any kid her age should go through.”

Daichi opened his mouth to snap and remind Suga that he didn’t know what he was talking about and that this wasn’t his problem. But instead, Daichi paused and looked the man across from him over. He’d never seen Suga angry, or even bothered by something and it was interesting to see how he held himself and watch the fires in his eyes burn. Daichi wished for him to always be this lively, this passionate. This Suga was probably the only remaining piece of the Suga from college and from before the White Lilies. Daichi could see now how he could have escaped from them. He was smart and passionate, two qualities not to be overlooked or discredited.

“Why are you so bothered by this?” Daichi asked. The extra pause meant that he spoke softer and was more reserved.

His tone seemed to loosen Suga’s shoulder slightly. The other man ran a hand through his silvery hair and looked just over Daichi’s shoulder and out the window. “I don’t think she should testify. After going through all this with Tooru I… this isn’t the thing a child should do. She’s what, eight or nine? She shouldn’t have to sit up in a courtroom and testify in front of anyone or be forced to face her abuser. This entire process is clearly stressing her out. You’ll save her from any more pain if you turn your search elsewhere, and I think you’ll be more successful as well.”

Daichi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, staring down at his messy desk. He didn’t know where to start, didn’t know how to explain that they had looked through that house and had found nothing. That tracking a phone without having it was challenging. That chasing someone who didn’t want to be found and was good at hiding was equally as challenging.

Before Daichi could bring himself to say anything or even find the words, Suga rose suddenly. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I have to go to class just… please… think about it, okay?”

“Sure, we’ll  _ think _ about it.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you around.”

Suga exited the office and Daichi trailed him to walk him to the elevators, though it wasn’t as if he could get lost. Suga slowed after a few steps and let Daichi walk with him. He didn’t say anything else. The elevator must have been a floor away because it arrived soon after Suga pushed its button. When it did arrive Suga stepped inside and Daichi, realize he hadn’t actually said anything while they stood together, threw himself forward to keep the door from closing.

“T-tomorrow,” Daichi stammered

Suga blinked back and looked between Daichi and the elevator door. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I promised you dinner, or lunch or something as payment for helping us today. Would you like to go tomorrow?”

Suga stared off to the side but when he looked at Daichi he frowned, and Daichi’s stomach dropped. “If you can promise me you won’t put that girl on the stand, I’ll go to dinner with you.”

Daichi sighed. “It’s not that easy.”

“Yes, it is. She doesn’t go on the stand, and we go out to dinner.” Suga closed his eyes and let out a long breath. When he opened them, his eyes had a fire to them, the embers Daichi had always seen smoldering were now a flickering flame, cutting through any darkness that lingered. “Promise me you won’t let her take the stand Daichi. It’s… no child should have to go through all of this, and no abused kid should be forced to testify against her abuser. Please, promise me that.”

With his own sigh, softer and weaker, Daichi nodded. He couldn’t say no to someone that passionate. Or maybe it was just that he couldn’t say no to Suga. “I promise.”

“Great,” Suga’s impassioned look softened into something that was almost hopeful. “Then meet me in front of the restaurant at six, we can walk somewhere. Okay?”

Swallowing down the butterflies and the ignoring the excitement Daichi nodded. “Oh, okay.”

With one last almost-smile, Suga gestured for him to step back. It took Daichi a moment to realize he was still standing in the elevator door, and the elevator was now angrily beeping at him. He took a step back, face heating up rapidly, and looked up. He met Suga’s eyes just as the door closed. As Suga descended down the lobby, all Daichi could do was stare and try not to scream. He had a date.


	25. Trial - Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me actually posting early-ish. Early in the morning at least. Hope you enjoy this chapter, alternatively titled: It's Suga's Turn to Never Get a Break.
> 
> TW: Anxiety, very brief mentions of forced prostitution

_ Saturday, June 24, 2016 _

_ 3:41 pm _

“Is it true that you aren’t working the evening shift today?” Shouyou asked as he set down glasses and plates

Koushi gave the boy a sideways glance. “Where did you hear that?”

“Rosa mentioned something about it,” there was a pause as Shouyou set down more glassware, but once it was out of his hands he spun to face Koushi, eyes shining. “So it’s true, right? Who are you meeting with? Where are you going?”

Koushi took a step back to distance himself from the small ball of energy and returned to wiping down the table. “What makes you think I’m meeting with anyone?” He asked. His voice was calm but his face was warm and most likely red.

“You don’t have class on the weekend,” Shouyou pointed out, beaming. “Which means you  _ are _ meeting with someone.”

Koushi grabbed his rag and the bucket and started towards the kitchen. “What of it?”

Shouyou bounced around at his heels like an excitable puppy. Koushi pushed open the door, and Shouyou bounded after him practically yelling, “You never meet with people! Is this… Are you going on a  _ date _ ?”

Koushi froze. The whole kitchen froze and was now watching him. A… date? Sure they were going to dinner alone, but one key aspect of this whole “date” idea was missing. Daichi didn’t like Koushi and Koushi didn’t like Daichi. Not in that way. Daichi was attractive, Koushi could admit that. Koushi was willing to admit that about a number of people but that didn’t mean he  _ liked _ them. And yes, Daichi had a great smile, and he was kind, and he listened well, and he actually seemed to enjoy Koushi’s company. But the last man to do all that… Koushi pushed back the bitterness with a sigh. He didn’t like Daichi, he  _ couldn’t _ , which meant this wasn’t a date.

“I’m not going on a date,” Koushi said after a noticeably long pause. “He owes me, so we’re going out to dinner.”

Koushi walked past Shouyou and along the side of the kitchen, trying to keep out of anyone’s view. Something caught his sleeve and he fell to a stop, glancing over his shoulder. Shouyou watched him with a mixed expression, almost pained, almost pitying, and Koushi frowned. He didn’t like that expression, not on Shouyou, not on anyone.

“I…” the boy faulted, chewed at his lip, then looked up at Koushi. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… it wasn’t my place to…”

“It’s fine,” Koushi said quickly, placing a hand on Shouyou’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have snapped.” It was a surprise to Koushi when Shouyou didn’t shift away from his touch. Just stayed under it, still and smiling. “You might want to get back to setting tables though. You know how Angie is…”

Shouyou was gone and out into the restaurant with a squeak, leaving Koushi alone to contemplate his date. No, his not-date, because it was anything but a date, of that he was certain. Dates were between people who liked each other, who flirted with one another. Dates were not between people who had only met because of a murder – two murders actually. Dates were for people who trusted each other. Dates were not for people who lied about their identities and talked around one another. Dates were for people who were open to love. Dates were not for people who were scared or wary of ruining it. Dates were for people who weren’t Koushi Sugawara.

Koushi continued through the afternoon in a haze. He did his work, but he wasn’t attentive. It was never a good sign when he tripped more than Shouyou did. The younger boy was aware of it too. When he was a bit more lucid, Koushi could feel Shouyou’s concerned gaze. And Rosa, she watched him like a hawk. She had that unreadable expression, the one she was wearing more often. Twice, Koushi met her gaze, and twice he looked away, scampering back to work.

At five, he vanished up the stairs and into his – no Rosa’s – apartment. He didn’t need an hour to get ready, but he couldn’t concentrate, and staying downstairs with a head full of clouds and confusion was an accident waiting to happen. Upstairs was safer. If he fell he’d be the only one to know.

As it turned out, perhaps he did need the full hour, because the moment he was in his room he realized, he had nothing to wear. Yes, he had just done the laundry, and yes every shirt was available but nothing seemed… appropriate. He pulled out shirts and slacks and jeans and button downs and nothing went with the other. The pants were too tight or too loose. The shirts were too nice or not nice enough.

Koushi reached across his desk and picked up his phone. For a second his fingers hovered over the call button bellow Keiji’s name. It could be just like college. Koushi in a panic, Keiji calm and cool as ever talking him through it. Out of all of his friends, it was always Keiji who knew what Koushi should wear on a first date.

Koushi froze.

A first date? This wasn’t a first date or a last date or any date. This wasn’t a  _ date _ , so there was no reason to worry about what to wear or what not to wear. Koushi was dragging Daichi to a new French place anyway, it sounded  _ nice _ but it wasn’t anything  _ fancy _ . It certainly wasn’t  _ date fancy _ .

Tossing his phone back onto his bed, he grabbed the most comfortable pair of jeans that he owned and a loose top that would hopefully save him from some of the L.A. heat. Yeah, this wasn’t fancy. This was  _ nothing _ .

 

The problem with living above the restaurant meant, that for Koushi to get in front of said restaurant, he had to go through said restaurant. Going through quickly with his head down should have saved him from stares and comments. It did not. Shouyou was the first to spot him, then Angie, then the rest of the wait staff and host staff out front. At least he was saved from all the eyes in the kitchen. Even Rosa paused for a second, giving him a critical look over.

“You look nice.” It was clearly a question.

Koushi forced a smile. “Thank you.” That was clearly not an answer. Koushi hoped that it filled in as one anyway.

Rosa’s frown and sharp look told him that it did not.

After a few more awkward questions and a few more uncomfortable answers, Koushi was able to dislodge himself from his co-workers by reminding them that they had work and weren’t being paid to gush over him. Another minute and he was out the door and past the small patio and on the street. He was almost glad Daichi wasn’t right on time because it gave him some time by himself to just breathe.

That time didn’t last. He wasn’t sure what set him off, but there was a prickling across his skin and Koushi looked up just as Daichi moved down the street. The police captain smiled and gave a small wave and Koushi’s chest was suddenly too small. Now that he thought about it, Koushi had never seen Daichi out of his work uniform and jacket. He was dressed down, casual slacks and nice but fitted shirt. Yes, Koushi could say definitively that Daichi was, in fact, attractive. At the thought, something bubbled in Koushi. It was like a hive was torn open in his chest, and the bees were free to fly around wherever they pleased. A wave of nausea washed over him just as Daichi stopped in front of him.

“Hope you weren’t waiting too long,” Daichi said by way of greeting.

Shaking his head, Koushi started walking down the street. “No, I just got out myself.” It would probably be impolite to say that you wished someone would take longer to arrive, so Koushi scooted around that thought.

Daichi fell into step beside him, leaving Koushi a bit of girth. Koushi was immediately thankful for the space, rare in downtown L.A. It also allowed him to step around other pedestrians without bumping into Daichi.

“So… where are going?” Daichi asked after a full block of silence.

“I’ll tell you, but first, how’s the case going?” He cast a glance to Daichi, willing himself to not stare too long at the line of Daichi’s collar against his throat, or the way the fabric moved along his shoulders.

“We might have found a lead through an acquaintance,” Daichi said, “I have to thank you for that. I’m not sure we would have found him if you hadn’t insisted we look elsewhere.”

Koushi shrugged, doing his best to ignore the warmth spreading across his cheeks. There was something about the thought of actually doing something for Daichi that felt nice. He had a lot to make up for after all. “I just don’t want her to take the stand,” Koushi replied. Frankly, he didn’t want anyone to take the stand.  _ He _ didn’t want to take the stand. All the preparation and the work and the eyes. He pushed the thoughts away before his breathing could swallow anymore.

“I can understand that.”

Koushi quirked an eyebrow. “Can you?”

“Sure, I’ve taken the stand a number of times.”

“Really?” Koushi wouldn’t have thought that the officers had any time for that.

Daichi shrugged. “As a lead investigator, I’m brought up to outline cases and provide background or general information.”

“You testify a lot then?”

“Yup. I’m even testifying in your case.”

Cold fear dripped down Koushi’s spine, bring up gooseflesh even in the summer heat. His mouth was suddenly dry and breathing hadn’t gotten any easier. “Are you now?” Daichi was going to know, he was going to hear Koushi’s story and he was going to know. He was going to hear about everything that Koushi had been done and he was going to see Koushi for what he really was.

“Yes, which means that we should probably refrain from talking about the case.”

“Right, yes.” Good. Good. In Koushi’s mind, they talked about the case too much as is. It was all he could think about at night. It was all Tooru called about. All Koushi dreamed about. He wanted this done and then he wanted to move on. He never wanted anyone else to have to go through this.

Glancing to Daichi, Koushi found that the police captain was already watching him was a soft expression. Koushi met Daichi’s gaze then looked away, cursing his pale skin as heat flared in his cheeks, again. He let out a breath, then said, “You can understand why I don’t want her to testify then?”

“Yes,” Daichi’s answer to clean and clear. “I completely understand and I'm sorry I pushed like that. Sometimes the job requires it.”

When Koushi looked back at him, all Koushi could see was truth. It was like looking into a pool and getting ready to dive head first. Daichi watched him as though every word he said was important. There was a time when Rosa looked at him like that, but that was before the truth. Daichi knew… most things, but not everything. Koushi couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he told Daichi what he’d done for the White Lilies.

“So… case business over. Where are we going to dinner?”

Koushi’s eyes snapped back ahead. The restaurant they were going to was two doors down, and busy by the looks of it. “We’re actually here,” Koushi said, gesturing to the sign. “I hope you like French food.”

Even though the restaurant was crowded, Koushi had thought a bit ahead and made a reservation, so their table was waiting off in the corner. Koushi claimed the seat with his back to the wall, happy to not have a repeat of his lunch with Keiji. His eye skimmed the restaurant as though he was looking for someone, but he couldn’t remember whom.

“This is a nice place.”

Daichi’s voice snapped Koushi out of his own thoughts. “It is.” Though in Koushi’s mind, everything that wasn’t Italian was nice. Pasta and pizza were great, but you lose taste for it after smelling it every day without exception.

“Well, dinner’s on me, so get whatever you want.”

Right, that was the deal. Koushi’s eyes skimmed the menu, but he didn’t really read any of it. “You came out here, that’s more than enough. We can split-”

“I said I would buy dinner, did I not?” Koushi found himself nodding to Daichi’s question. “Then I’m paying. Do you drink?”

After two years of using cheap alcohol to forget the faces and names of his patrons, Koushi decided that drinking wasn’t for him, no matter how good the alcohol was. “I’ll stick with water, thank you. But feel free to drink if you want to.”

In the end, they both stuck with water and ordered without much extra conversation. It nice, Koushi thought as he settled back in his chair and looked over the restaurant. Going out like this. He missed it. Back in college he and Keiji and their other friends would go out once in awhile when they were sick of cafeteria food and had some extra cash lying around.

Koushi’s eyes drifted back to Daichi and found that the other man was watching him a little too closely for comfort. After taking a long sip of water to ease the dryness of his mouth, Koushi asked, “What made you want to become a police officer?”

Just as Daichi said, “Why are you studying psychology?”

They stared at one another for a second, bumbling and gesturing to the other until Daichi huffed and grumbled so much that Koushi had to roll his eyes and glare at the man across from him. Daichi fell quiet, grinning nonetheless and Koushi almost found himself smiling back. A second later he was staring intently at their tablecloth, neat, white, barely wrinkled. “I was just wondering what made you choose police work, nevertheless the Homicide Division.”

Daichi leaned back in his chair, his eyes drifting away from Koushi to stare at some fixed point in space. “It was something I could do that I was good at, and it allowed me to connect with people around the community. I’ve always enjoyed helping people and this is any way that I can. It just sort of just happened.” Daichi shrugged, a lopsided grin sliding across his lips, and as much as Koushi didn’t want to and knew he shouldn’t, he continued to watch Daichi, heart thumping. “As for Major Crimes? The Captain before me, Captain Ukai, asked me to join their team, and I did. I’ve been there ever since. Now what about you, why psychology?”

Koushi flushed under the sudden attention. It was like a spotlight had suddenly turned on and he was the only person on stage. Daichi watched him with interest, hands folded on the table, head tilted, and eyes soft but attentive. There was fluttering through Koushi’s gut and chest. Anxiety? It felt like it but it was… lighter. “I’ve always been interested in the brain, and how it works, and why people… why they do what they do and how they are affected by certain situations,” Koushi started, eyes on his plate. “I’m not very good at science, but concepts make sense, so psychology just worked out. It’s kind of like you, it worked and I’m good at it.”

When he dared to look up again, Daichi was sitting across from him, smiling and nodding along. “Are you studying anything else?”

“French and English, though I’ll probably only be minoring in both.”

Daichi blinked. “You speak French?”

“It’s better than my Italian, much to Rosa’s dismay. I’ve been taking it since high school and I’ve only been learning Italian for five years.” Just mentioning Rosa sent a pang through his chest. What was the last time they had a conversation? The last time she teased him or kissed the top of his head? The apartment used to be home, but now it felt like the only time Koushi was there was to work or to sleep. The rest of his time was spent at class, the library, meeting with Tooru, hanging out with Keiji, or, as it appeared, talking with Daichi. He was more a tenant now than he had been when he first arrived.

The arrival of food brought silence to the table, much to Koushi’s thanks. He was too busy burying himself in his own thoughts to listen to Daichi. The other man said something, his lips moved, but Koushi couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t hear anything.

After a measly three bites, Koushi stood up and mumbled, “I’m going to the restroom.” He turned before he could see Daichi’s face or his response.

The restaurant’s restroom was nice, but Koushi was too busy trying to steady his breathing to take note of the decor. Once upon a time he might have taken some notes and gone back to Rosa with some new ideas, but those days were gone. Koushi had turned into just another employee. His chest ached and breathing quickened at the thought.

Alone.

He’d done it before: after high school when he slammed the door of his childhood home and never looked back, during college when he knew no one around him, after ending up in L.A. He’d been alone more times than he’d care to admit. What was one more? He could live without Rosa. But the thought still stung. It stung as much as his mother turning her back or his friends never calling. It stung even more than the realization that his father probably cared more for booze than his own family. It stung, but he’d live. He always did.

After splashing some water on his face and brushing some of his hair from his eyes, he slipped out of the restroom and made his way back to the table. He slipped into the chair just as Daichi let out a long breath, picked up his fork, and started eating again. By the looks of it, he hadn’t touched his food since Koushi had stood up. Guilt nipped at his gut as he began to pick at his own meal.

“Everything okay?”

“I’m fine.”

The rest of dinner was filled with tense conversation as opposed to the light chitchat that they’d had when walking over. Koushi knew he was the one to blame. Daichi tried to start things with questions and polite small talk, but Koushi couldn’t bring himself to reply with any more than five words, and Daichi’s defeated expression only continued to make his mood plummet.

When they had finished eating and the waiter brought the chest, Koushi tried one last time to ask to split the bill – the most he’d spoken since going off to the restroom. Daichi shut down the debate quickly and paid without pause. Koushi sat back in his chair allowing himself a minute to focus on his breath and the whirling thoughts dancing around his mind.

“Ready to go?” Koushi’s eyes snapped open to find Daichi, standing beside him, close but not too close. Koushi stood with a nod, and Daichi gave him a soft and careful smile. “I’ll walk you back.”

“Th-that’s really not-”

“We’re going in the same direction anyway,” Daichi pointed out as they exited the restaurant and made their way back to the street. It was almost eight now, and the streets were crowded with late workers rushing around to get home or get food. They moved together, side by side, a little closer than when they walked over, though Koushi assumed that was due to the circumstances they were in. They didn’t have as much room to space themselves as they would have liked.

A businesswoman, wrapped in the world of her phone, almost walked through Koushi. To avoid her, he stepped aside and right into Daichi. He didn’t flinch away at the touch, though he did pull away with a soft apology. Daichi watched him with this strange look of wonder before shaking his head and saying something under his breath that Koushi couldn’t hear over the din of the crowd and the cars.

The walk back was nicer than the terribly awkward dinner. They didn’t talk much, but there was a sense of peace that washed over them. Koushi decided that it was the movement and the fresh – if you could call it that – air of the city that was clearing his mind, and not the soft presence at his side, steady and firm. It was definitely the warm summer breeze and not Daichi, certainly not Daichi. It couldn’t be Daichi.

Koushi was so wrapped in his own mind he didn’t notice the figure moving towards them until it was too late.

“I thought I recognized the two of you,” Tooru’s words were soft but there was something bubbling under them that raised the hair on Koushi’s arms.

Daichi smiled, but it was strained. “It’s nice to see you, Tooru.”

“Hello,” Koushi mumbled.

“What are the two of you doing out?” Tooru asked, his gaze never leaving Daichi’s.

Daichi just stared back, unblinking and seemingly unbothered. “I owed Suga a dinner and decided to pay up since there wasn’t much work back at the office. What are you up to?”

“Just finished a meeting. Shame we ran late, I’d have loved to join you.”

For a moment, Daichi and Tooru just stared at one another. It was like watching Tetsurou and Kenma when they had a conversation without saying anything at all. Koushi felt left out, but also thankful. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what was going through Tooru’s mind.

After a tense goodbye, Tooru was off to get food, though Koushi found himself doubting the lawyer. He was probably off to work, but it wasn’t his place to say and Daichi started walking again so Koushi continued with him.

They arrived at the restaurant sooner than Koushi expected. Once again, he thanked Daichi for dinner, catching himself before he said the next one was on him because why would there be a next one? This hadn’t been a date. As it was, it could barely count as a friendly dinner on account of Koushi’s breakdown. Daichi smiled, gave a soft laugh, and insisted that it was nothing, which Koushi didn’t believe, but he kept his mouth shut as he had for a majority of the evening.

For a moment they just watched each other in the dim light of the restaurant because the damn streetlight was still very dead and the city hadn’t so much as considered fixing it. Koushi knew he was supposed to say something – goodbye maybe? Or thank you, again – he just wasn’t sure what. Daichi looked like he wanted to say something, but the words never left his lips. Koushi was about to take a deep breath and bid Daichi a good evening when the police captain’s eyes drifted from Koushi’s gaze down his face to his lips. The look was quick and subtle, and a second later Daichi was watching him expectantly, as though what Koushi had to say was the most important thing, but Koushi could no longer form words. There was a sinking pit in his stomach that grew with each second and the pounding in his chest and the bees were no longer gentle. No, they definitely felt like anxiety now.

Mumbling what he hoped as a goodbye, Koushi turned and fled into the safety of the restaurant. Angie was at the host’s table, but she was busy with a customer so Koushi slipped by her. Shouyou was up ahead, bussing tables as usual, but right as Koushi neared him, there was a sharp ring. Koushi picked it up before even glancing at the caller ID thankful for any distraction as he slipped by Shouyou, who took one look at the phone and frowned.

“Hello? Koushi?”

“K-Keiji! Hey.” Koushi slipped through the back door and started up the stairs. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I hope I’m not calling you too late.”

“N-no. Nope!” Koushi stammered. “No, I just … got back.”

There was a pause at the other end, and Koushi could almost hear Keiji frowning. “Are you alright, Koushi?”

“Yup! Definitely. What’s up?” Koushi made it through the door and glanced around. Rosa was probably still downstairs helping in the kitchen, so Koushi dropped onto the couch.

“I was wondering how you were and if you thought more about Mori and Taka?”

Right… them. Koushi had figured Keiji would drop it and the two of them could move on and never talk about it again. Koushi swallowed, and on the other end Keiji let out a soft huff.

“You didn’t call them did you?”

“I haven’t.” And Koushi had no intention of doing so. Ever.

“They deserve to know,” Keiji said softly. “They’re your friends and they care about you.”

Koushi didn’t know how to tell Keiji that while they had been his friends eight years ago, they probably wouldn’t be now, not after everything he’d done. He wasn’t the same Koushi in college as much as he wanted to be. And caring meant nothing. Rosa cared, or at least Koushi assumed she had at one point, but now it was like she couldn’t get within five feet of him. Keiji didn’t seem to understand the extent of the things Koushi had done those two a half years. If he did, he probably would have left too.

“I could tell them if you want,” Keiji continued after a moment. “I know it must be hard for you, but I think if you had more people supporting you at the trial-”

“They can’t come to the trial,” Koushi said in a rush.

Keiji sighed again. “It might be nice to have friendly faces in the crowd. As small as courtrooms can be, they’re intimidating.”

Tooru had said the same thing, but that changed nothing. If they were there, they would know. Honestly, Koushi wasn’t sure he even wanted Keiji there. Keiji might know what had happened, but he didn’t need to hear the details. In fact, Koushi didn’t want Keiji to hear the details. He didn’t want anyone to know the details, but he had to give them anyway.

“Think about it,” Keiji said, “Please?”

Something in Koushi’s chest relaxed a little. Even after eight years, it was hard to say no to Keiji. “Fine. I’ll… consider it.”

“That’s all I’m asking. Thank you.”

Koushi hummed his response.

“You sound tired. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes,” Koushi replied with a bit too much snap.

He could practically hear Keiji frown on the other end. “We’ll talk later. Lunch, maybe?”

“Sure.”

After another soft goodbye, Koushi found himself staring up at his ceiling. Telling Morisuke and Takanobu sounded like a terrible idea, though Keiji seemed to think it was necessary. It was surprising really, that Keiji still spoke with both of them, very regularly by the sound of it. Though maybe it wasn’t that surprising. If your best friend suddenly vanished you had to talk with someone. Koushi had done the same thing with Yui.

Fumbling around with his wallet, Koushi pulled out the crumbled picture, dulled by age and ripped at the corner. Yui… Koushi hadn’t thought about her recently, his mind had been too busy. He blamed Tooru and the trial and Rosa and Keiji, but he knew that something else was the reason, something he was ignoring. As much as Koushi tried he couldn’t stop thinking of Daichi’s smile or laugh or that quick glance he'd made to Koushi's lips.

The pit in his stomach only grew and Koushi rolled onto his side, pressing his face into the couch. He clutched Yui’s picture, but his mind was elsewhere. Koushi fell asleep like that, eyes on Yui, but mind far, far away, focused on a different smile.


	26. Trial - Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is pretty late because I honestly forgot that it was Monday. Hope you all have/had a safe and happy Halloween and Halloweekend! Enjoy~
> 
> TW: anxiety, panic attack, mentions of past prostitution, mentions of death

_ Friday, July 15, 2016 _

_ 4:45 pm _

“I know it’s hard to talk about, but you can’t stop. You need to keep going,” Tooru said for the fourth or fifth time, and Koushi was starting to wonder if he was physically capable of saying anything else. “It’s okay to cry.”

Koushi ran his hands down his face but was too tired to even try to argue with the lawyer. After trying – and failing – to talk about Yui’s murder, he felt sapped of every ounce of energy he had. Even sitting up was painful. To think he still had work after this. Koushi wanted nothing more than to curl in a ball on the floor and sleep, though that probably wasn’t an appropriate thing to do in an attorney’s office.

Two weeks until opening statements and Koushi couldn’t get through his direct examination without clamming up. He tried. Oh did he try. But he’d get to talking about Yui or what the men did to him and the words wouldn’t come or he wouldn’t be able to breathe. Sometimes he’d be able to talk about Yui, other times the abuse, but never both. 

“Let’s go over those questions again, okay?”

Koushi let out a weak breath and nodded.

“What happened after you got out of the alley?”

Koushi sat up straight like Tooru had told him to, and let out a long breath. He was allowed to breathe, allowed to take his time, but he had to keep going forward. “We ran out of the alley and then down the street. It was empty… very empty and they were right behind us. Yui… she couldn’t keep up. She told me to go ahead and that she’d stay behind. Even if I went ahead they’d still find me so she…” Koushi swallowed, trying to clear his throat, but it only seemed to constrict more. “She made me hide in a trashcan on the corner.”

Tooru, to his credit, nodded along and looked about as apologetic and sympathetic as humanly possible. Koushi wondered why he was a lawyer and not an actor. “What happened next?”

“I hid in the trashcan. She… she was left in the open when they came.”

“Did they do anything?”

Koushi let out a long breath. He tried to push the images away, but the smell of the trashcan lingered in the air, hot and humid, and he could hear the yelling and the insults. He nodded and whispered, “Yes.”

“What did they do?”

“Th-they yelled at her. Called her a slut and s-some other names. I… I couldn’t see but I heard the slap. She hit the pavement… hard. They were asking her to tell them where I was.”

“Did she tell them?”

Koushi shook his head and sniffled. He could feel his breathing grow more and more erratic. His heart hammered in his chest, pounding against his ribs. His head pounded with yelling and hissing and spitting. Insults that he never wanted to hear ever again. Insults that he never wanted to repeat.

“She didn’t tell them.”

“Did you ever take a peek at what was going on?”

Koushi nodded again, and Tooru gave him that look. Right. He had to vocalize his responses for the court clerk, who would, apparently, write everything that was happening down as it happened. Seemed like a miserable and depressing job if Koushi ever heard of one. “I-I did.”

“What, if anything, did you see?”

Koushi swallowed again, but it didn’t help. His stomach churned like he was going to be sick and his head spun like he was going to pass out. Every time he blinked he saw the wall of the trashcan slowly moving up and then the sliver of light and movement through the rim. “I… I saw a man, standing, with a gun.”

“Was there anyone else there?”

“Yes? Yes. Th-there was another man, walking away.”

“Did you recognize these men?”

Koushi nodded and stared at his hands, bloody. What it is own or Yui’s?

“I know this is hard for you, but I need you to respond with a yes or a no. Did you or did you not recognize those men?”

“I… I did.”

“Who were they?”

This was easy with no one but Tooru’s eyes on him, but still, Koushi closed his eyes and pictured Tomi, staring him down from a far-off table. It made his stomach ball and drop. “The man who walked away was Arnaud Ness and the man with the gun… was T-Tomi Murtas.”

Tooru nodded. “What happened next?”

Koushi opened his mouth to reply, but the words never came. It was like a dam went up in his throat, holding back his thoughts, his sounds, and anything else. He recognized the feeling, the tightness of his chest, the buzzing in his head. Taking a few deep breaths, Koushi tried to push through the block, tried to form the words on his tongue, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t speak, only see.

Yui was in front of him, only there was no trash can to hide in this time. She watched him, wide-eyed, as Tomi lifted the gun slowly. As much as Koushi wanted to, he couldn’t move. It was like he was a piece of stone cemented in place. Yui pleaded, begged, cried. But Koushi could only watch as the gun went off. The bang shook him to his core.

“Koushi.”

Was that her calling him or someone else?

“Koushi!”

A hand fell on his shoulder and he jerked away from the touch, eyes wide. Instead of looking up into a dark smirk, he was looking at a bright frown. Tooru took a step back, arms crossed. “You can’t just space out like that.”

Koushi’s attention dropped to his shaking hands as he picked at his nails – not like there was anything left to pick at. “I know.”

“If you know then don’t do it!”

Head snapping up and eyes narrowing, Koushi met Tooru’s gaze straight on. The words danced on the tip of his tongue and then died. How was he supposed to explain that, no, he couldn’t “just do it?” How could he describe the fear and the guilt and the images that popped up again and again when he couldn’t even tell his therapist? It wasn’t that easy. Tooru didn’t seem to understand that and Koushi didn’t know how to explain it.

With a sigh, Tooru walked around to his desk and dropped into his large leather chair that looked like something out of a movie. “This is hard for you, I get that.” Tooru sounded tired and worn. When he looked up, his expression was no longer bright but dulled and drained. “This is a lot of work and it probably brings back some bad memories, but I made you a promise. I told you that I would lock away Tomi Murtas for good and I intend to do just that, but in order to do that, I  _ need _ you to testify. There isn’t another option. If you want Tomi Murtas behind bars, you need to follow my instructions.”

Easier said than done, but Koushi nodded anyway. He was much too tired to argue, and Tooru was a lot like Rosa. No matter how hard Koushi did argue, Tooru would always win. Leaning back in the chair, Koushi closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and waited for the questions to begin. When nothing happened, he cracked his eyes opened and glanced back to Tooru.

The lawyer sat in his chair, hands folded over the table, watching Koushi as though he was some curiosity. “We’re done with questions for today,” Tooru said, in lieu of explanation.

Koushi went to stand up.

“Before you go,” Tooru said, “I have one last thing I want to discuss with you.”

Koushi sat down slowly, heart thumping at a greater and greater pace. “What would that be?”

Tooru’s eyes narrowed and for a moment the lawyer studied Koushi’s expression in silence. After a beat, Tooru said, “I’ve noticed you and Daichi have been spending a lot of time together recently.”

Koushi raised an eyebrow. Tooru wasn’t wrong, he and Daichi had been meeting - in fact, there was currently a text from the police captain sitting on his phone, waiting to be answered - but there was something in Tooru’s tone that set Koushi on edge about the whole thing. Koushi stared for a few more seconds before it clicked, before he realized what Tooru was alleging and his eyes flew open. “N-no,” he mumbled. “I… no… we’re not… It’s not like that!”

“I wasn’t saying it was,” Tooru replied, eyes never leaving Koushi’s.

“W-we aren’t seeing each other,” Koushi choked out. “I don’t like him… not like that. Yes, he’s a very kind man-”

“That he is,” Tooru smirked, but it was gone as soon as it came. With a sigh, Tooru leaned back in his chair, elegant and almost regal, an emperor looking over his domain. “I’m not saying you like him or you don’t, I’m simply saying that others might misinterpret your meetings. The closer we get to the trial the more cautious we all must be. No one knows who you are now, but after opening statements we have to release your name to the public. Once that happens, people will know you and watch you. Please be careful, Koushi. You’re our only shot at putting a very bad man in jail for the rest of his life. You’ve almost been hurt once, I don’t want that to happen again.”

Koushi swallowed the lump in his throat. Unable to speak, he only nodded prayed the lawyer couldn’t see him shaking. Tooru was right. This was it. There wasn’t any room to mess up. No one else had seen what he’d seen that night. It would be his word against Tomi’s, and whoever was most believable would win. Failure wasn’t an option, and if that meant that he had to cut his meetings with Daichi, then so be it. As much as his chest twisted with the thought, he didn’t think there was anything else he could do and he wasn’t about to ruin this for Tooru.

Head swarming with thoughts and heart pounding with cortisol and anxiety, Koushi glanced at the clock. He had a shift in half an hour and needed to shower and change and somehow find more energy. With a mumbled apology, Koushi forced himself out of the chair and threw his bag over his shoulder.

“Please look at your direct before we meet again,” Tooru called after him.

“I will.” For the first time, Koushi was telling the truth.

 

* * *

 

_ Friday, July 15, 2016 _

_ 11:53 pm _

Daichi was glad for a chance to look at anything that wasn’t a screen. He closed his computer and stared up at his ceiling. For a second, Daichi allowed his eyes to slip closed and he let out a small breath, rolling his shoulders back to loosen them. He was sinking into his chair when a loud buzz pulled him from whatever peace he had made for himself.

The buzzing continued as he reached across his desk and grabbed his phone. He glanced at the screen. Upon seeing the name, he answered it without a second thought, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Hey.”

There was a sniffling on the other end followed by a shaking breath, and any bubbling Daichi had felt in his chest upon seeing Suga’s name pop up on his screen vanished.

“Suga, is everything okay?”

“I…” There was another breath on the other end of the line, then a sigh. “I’m sorry. I-I don’t know why…”

Daichi frowned into the receiver. “I’ll meet you outside the restaurant in fifteen minutes, okay?”

There was a soft hum on the other end of the line before the call ended. Daichi slipped his phone in his pocket, chewing on his bottom lip. It wasn’t uncommon for Suga to call him in a panic, just as it wasn’t uncommon for him to text Suga just to see how things were going. It was a strange relationship, something beyond acquaintances but not quite at friendship, but Daichi wouldn’t complain.

Grabbing his wallet and keys, Daichi slipped out of the office. He glanced around once and when no eyes turned in his direction started towards the elevators as calmly as possible.

He was halfway down the hall and almost around the corner when a voice asked, “Finished your papers already?”

Daichi turned to reply to Chikara’s question but Yuu jumped in. “Nah. He’s probably going to visit his boyfriend,” the excitable detective said.

Daichi bristled as his face grew warmer and warmer. Ryu laughed along with Yuu. “Definitely. Look at him! He’s all red.”

“Suga is not-”

“If you’re leaving, do the rest of us get to leave?” Kei asked as he walked from one room to another, laptop in hand.

“Your boyfriend is here, why do you need to go home?” Ryu snapped.

Kei didn’t take the bait, only leveled Ryu with an even frown. “Some of us can’t function on only energy drinks.”

Daichi rubbed the area between his eyes, wishing away as much of the red as he could, and nodded. “If you have stuff you can put off until tomorrow, go home and get some rest, you all deserve it” he called as he started towards the elevators again. He turned the corner as Ryu and Yuu cheered and Hajime yelled at all of them to shut up and get back to work.

The elevator came quicker than usual and ran smoother; Daichi assumed that it felt bad for him. Or maybe it felt bad for Suga. He didn’t know and refused to question it. Downtown was busy, per usual, but Daichi made it to the restaurant quickly. Suga was already outside, perched against the railing of the restaurant patio, phone out and eyes flickering between it and the street around him. When Daichi called his name, he almost jumped out of his skin.

Even with the lack of light, it was clear that Suga had been crying. The skin around his eyes was puffy and his nose was red. He met Daichi’s gaze and held it for a whole three seconds before looking at the ground. For a moment the two of them just stood there on the side of the street, Daichi watching Suga, Suga studying the ground.

“Let’s walk,” Daichi said once it was clear that Suga wasn’t going to speak. He turned and started down the street. Two steps later and Suga was right beside him, matching his pace step for step.

Daichi took the chance to look at the younger man to his left. Suga stared ahead, fixated on some point of the space that Daichi couldn’t point out. He lacked the usual shaking or jumpiness of anxiety, and while his eyes did sweep to look at the people passing by he didn’t appear to be looking  _ for _ anyone. His breathing was even and collected, for the most part. Suga didn’t look close to breaking down. He looked exhausted, like the first time they met when Suga had been in for questioning. Only, at that time he’d been shielding himself from the world and nearly impossible to fine. He was still hiding now, but finding him didn’t seem impossible anymore.

They walked up and down streets. Daichi was careful to keep them away from any streets that would have large crowds. After a while, Daichi wasn’t sure how long, they found a little ledge and sat down on it. When Daichi turned, Suga was already watching him, but his gaze wasn’t the strong, inquisitive, gaze Daichi was used to. It lacked spark. The embers in Suga’s eyes had gone and out and he just looked empty. It caused Daichi to ache.

“I’m sorry for dragging you out here again,” Suga muttered, eyes falling back to his lap. His head dipped slightly and his hair, messy and wild from the day, fell into his face. It took all of Daichi’s will not to reach across the distance between them and push the strand back behind Suga’s ear.

“You don’t have to keep apologizing,” Daichi said, “If I didn’t want to come out here I wouldn’t have.”

Suga gave no indication as to whether he believed Daichi or not, he just stared at his hands, which were unmoving, resting in his lap.

“You want to talk about it?”

For a moment, it didn’t look like Suga was going to say anything. Daichi was just about to begin telling him about Yuu and Ryu’s most recent adventure when Suga straightened and brushed the strand of hair out of his face himself – much to Daichi’s dismay. He turned towards Daichi. He still didn’t look Daichi in the eyes; he stared somewhere over Daichi’s shoulder, but he was looking in Daichi’s direction. That in and of itself was enough to kill the words on Daichi’s tongue and send his heart pounding as though he had won a marathon. It was impossible to look away from Suga, even in the dim streetlight he looked beautiful. But even his beauty was not enough for Daichi to ignore the dark circles and blank expression.

“It’s just…” Even Suga’s voice was dull and drained. The younger man let out a soft sigh and looked over the street. His hands fell together in his lap, but he didn’t pick at his nails on twisted his fingers together before pulling them apart and starting the process over. “The trial is in two weeks and I’m not ready. I can’t do it. I can’t testify. I go to speak and the words get stuck or just… they don’t come. No matter how many times I talk Tooru through it, when we get to questions I start to see everything and then I’m there again. Every time we do it I-I see her… I see Yui.”

Before he could think, Daichi reached forward, bridging the gap between them to rest his hand on Suga’s. He let his fingers trace patterns over Suga’s knuckles and slowly Suga’s hands began to untangle and just lie limp.

“I-if I can’t get through a direct examination how am I supposed to get through a cross? I’ve never even been crossed. I’ve never even been in a courtroom. I don’t speak well in front of other people and Tooru said that this is going to be a big trial, that lots of people will be watching.”

“It will be a high profile case but that doesn’t mean that people will be there, just that people will be following along to see the results.”

“But they’ll still be watching! I’m the only one who can put him away. I’m the only one who saw what he did. If he doesn’t end up in jail it’ll be because of me, and… and…”

Daichi slipped in finger’s through Suga’s and gave his hand a small squeeze. “Suga, breathe, please.”

Suga didn’t breathe, nor did he react to Daichi’s fingers intertwining with his own. “And I need to do this. I need to do it for Tooru and Yui and Rosa and Keiji and  _ you _ . I-I-I can’t  _ not _ do this. Th-that isn’t an option. Tooru’s right, I’m the only person who can do this. He has to go to jail or… or… There isn’t another option. And Tooru promised but I h-h-have to… b-but I can’t... and the words… and the people… I can’t do this. I… I have to-”

“Breathe,” Daichi said as Suga’s voice cracked. He gave the man’s hands another squeeze. “You have to breathe. Nothing will happen if you don’t breathe. Follow me.” Daichi shifted so that he was facing Suga, and while Suga was watching him, the younger man’s eyes were glazed slightly and out of focus. “In for four.” He took a deep breath in and Suga tried to follow him but his chest spasmed again. “Hold for seven.” Daichi held his breathe and Suga tried to have well. “Release for eight.”

Daichi traced Suga’s wrist with his fingers, feeling for a pulse. It was rapid and racing, but slowly with each breath, Suga tried to take and hold it slowed, beat by beat. Soon his pulse was even, still fast and flighty, but even, and Suga’s chest didn’t flutter, though he still hiccupped. Using Daichi’s pattern, Suga initial panic seemed to fade. His eyes focused back in and his attention dropped to his hands, or their hands now.

Daichi pulled away quickly, slipping through Suga’s loose grip. Suga turned and Daichi was suddenly aware that the foot of space between them had vanished almost completely. They were sitting side-by-side, thighs and shins against each other and their shoulders as well if they weren’t facing each other. Looking at Suga now, Daichi could count the faint freckles across Suga’s nose or perhaps his eyelashes, if Daichi dared to stare at him that long. His heart raced, just as Suga’s had a few minutes earlier, but it was caused by a very different emotion. He paused for a moment but when Suga didn’t move, Daichi didn’t either. He couldn't bring himself to.

“How are you feeling?” Daichi asked but didn’t look. He wasn’t sure he’d do anything but stare if he did.

“F-fine.” Suga’s voice was small but not empty. “I’m sorry for freaking out… again.”

“Please don’t apologize.” Daichi took the risk and looked to Suga when he spoke and the younger man met his gaze with nervous eyes. “It’s not your fault. Tooru can be… a little intense. He means well but it doesn’t always come across like he does. You aren’t in this alone. You have Tooru and Tetsu and Kenma. You have Officer Akaashi. You have your co-workers, the short redhead and the tall one with the beard. You also have Rosa.”

The moment the name slipped out, Suga’s face darkened and he turned away to stare at his hands. Daichi’s gut twisted. He recalled his last visit to the restaurant, and the tension between the two and the short comments as well. He’d figured it was just that day, that something had happened, but the bitter, twisted look on Suga’s face, told Daichi that it hadn’t just been a little argument.

“The point is,” Daichi continued, after a moment too long. “You have people to support you. You aren’t in this alone, Tooru will make sure of that. He’s a great attorney, though not always the best comforter. Whatever happens in that courtroom, Tooru has your back. You aren’t testifying alone either. Though Officer Akaashi and I won’t be there, we will be testifying with you. We all have your back, okay?”

Suga gave a weak nod, turned, and met Daichi’s gaze. What he gave Daichi wasn’t quite a smile, nor was it very happy, but Daichi took in any way and stored the picture away in his brain. It was a look Suga made and therefore not one that he wanted to forget anytime soon.

“Thank you,” Suga said sheepishly.

“Don’t worry, this is-”  _ My job? _ Daichi stopped short. Was this his job? His job was solving crimes, not comforting people. It was dealing with murders, not stressed out witnesses. He wasn’t called daily to deal with people who were stressed – well they were stressed but that stress often had to do with a dead body. No, this wasn’t his job and Daichi couldn’t even bother to convince himself that this was. And for the first time, he didn’t want to.

He turned to Suga again, a small smile playing with his own lips. “This is what friends do,” he said softly.

Suga blinked and under the streetlight, his skin darkened to a rosy-red. He chewed at his bottom lip and Daichi’s eyes dropped there, following the movement. Daichi sucked in a quick breath, his quickening heartbeat echoing in his ears and pounding through his veins, driving him forward. A shuddering breath danced over his cheeks and Daichi’s eyes snapped open  – when had he closed them? The first thing he noticed were wide, brown eyes watch him, unblinking. The second thing Daichi saw we’re soft lips, centimeters away from his own. The next thing was the red that had crept across Suga’s nose, staining his cheeks. Daichi sat back, heart pounding, limbs shaking. Suga continued to stare, breathing heavily. For a few seconds, neither of them moved, processing what had almost occurred.

Daichi stood up abruptly both happy and heartbroken at the space between them. He didn’t look back at Suga, deciding it better to hide his own flush. Though he wasn’t sure how much color Suga would be able to make out, Daichi wasn’t willing to take that chance.

“I’ll walk you home.”

Suga cleared his throat with a forced cough and stood up as well. “Okay.”

The walk back was quick and silent. All the while, Daichi was all to aware of the space between them, and the way Suga’s ran his hands together, fingers brushing the very same knuckles Daichi had brushed not all that long ago. At the restaurant, their only words were soft goodbyes, and even then Daichi couldn’t risk looking at Suga for too long for fear that he would want to kiss Suga again. For fear that he would try to this time.

The walk back to headquarters was hazy. Daichi was only partly aware of the red and green lights telling him to stop and go, he was, however, mostly aware of Suga’s tensing and his small smile and his soft face and delicate hair and– Daichi had to stop for fear that the thoughts would spiral out of control. They already were spiraling, getting harder and hard to contain and it made Daichi shake and his gut twisting and heart pound against his ribs. It made him think about kissing Suga when Suga was right there. It made him do a lot of things. He couldn’t recall the last time he had felt like this. When was the last time he liked someone?

Daichi stopped outside of his building and stared at the darkened glass. He… liked Suga? Well, Suga’s smile made him smile, his almost-laugh made Daichi’s heart pound and chest hurt, and his kindness was the most beautiful thing about him, along with, well, everything else.

Daichi let out a long sigh and stepped into the building. Tooru was going to kill him if Suga didn’t do it first


	27. Trial - Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late, I apologize, but it's long and there's plenty of fluff at the end to make up for it.... I hope. There have also been a lot of rather large time-skips that I'm just brushed over mostly, so I hope everything makes sense... Well anyway, enjoy!!
> 
> TW: Asexual erasure, anxiety, mentions of forced prostitution

_ Friday, July 22, 2016 _

_ 3:06 pm _

The mid-afternoon rush was especially bad for a Friday. But while his co-workers grumbled and complained – who the fuck eats at three o’clock? – Koushi kept his head down and worked. For the most part, he was serving old couples and the occasional family, but they were all kind to him and left nice tips, so Koushi couldn’t complain. Besides, the work allowed him to keep his mind busy and off any number of distracting topics, like the upcoming trial, or Keiji’s constant question about Mori and Taka, or the fact that a week ago Daichi had tried to kiss him and then hadn’t called since. Yes, work kept his mind busy, very busy, except for when it didn’t. No matter how hard he worked thoughts would slip through the cracks.

His coworkers knew something was up, especially Shouyou. Though the redhead hadn’t said anything, every time Koushi turned around, he met bright, curious eyes. The kid couldn’t be subtle even if he tried. Thankfully, with Shouyou bussing and Koushi waiting, there was rarely a time when they crossed paths, so Koushi didn’t have to dodge questions, only looks. And he had a lot of practice doing that with Rosa.

Though he and Rosa hadn’t had a conversation in three weeks, there seemed to be even more tension than when they had been on terse speaking terms. Koushi had thought that the distance would make it easier for his co-workers to function, but they only seemed more distracted, whispering to one another when Rosa was gone and they thought Koushi wasn’t looking. They never talked to him about it, and, if anything, seemed to give him a wider girth than usual, so Koushi wasn’t bothered by their whispers. Only Shouyou seemed willing to approach Koushi, though he hadn’t tried to breach The Topic… yet.

Koushi forced the thoughts out of his mind long enough to take a couple’s order and turn it into the kitchen. He turned around and found Shouyou in front of him, watching with an intense and fiery stare.

“I need to get back to work,” Koushi said, moving around Shouyou.

Shouyou stayed right on his heels. When Koushi stopped, Shouyou almost ran into his back. Spinning around, Koushi tossed the boy a glare. Shouyou just blinked back.

“What?” Koushi snapped.

“Why are you and Rosa avoiding each other?”

“We’re not…” Koushi glanced to the tables but no one seemed to be interested in their little discussion, yet. “I really don’t have time for this, Shouyou.”

Shouyou pouted like a small child. “You don’t have time for anything anymore. It’s either school or work or you’re out with your boyfriend.”

Heat spread across his cheeks and Koushi struggled to keep control of his breath. “Daichi and I are friends,” Koushi said through gritted teeth. “And I’ve been… busy.”

Shouyou didn’t look convinced. “You rarely spend any time here.”

“I’m here every day.”

“Working,” Shouyou said. “And when you’re not working, you’re gone. Is it because of the murder? Is that why you aren’t talking to anyone?”

Koushi slapped a hand over Shouyou’s mouth and glared at the younger man. “We aren’t talking about this, not when there are customers, and not when we are on shift. Get back to work. We’ll talk later.”

“There never is a later,” Shouyou hissed. “You always say later but you always push that later back and back. I know about the trial in a week, we all do!”

If patrons hadn’t been looking before they were now, and Koushi was feeling smaller and smaller, and his heart was pounding against his ribs, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. The eyes were everywhere, feeling almost as numerous as the hands. His mind buzzed and for a second he thought his knees were going to buckle.

Narrowing his attention on Shouyou, Koushi took a back and glanced over his shoulder. When it seemed that the onlookers had returned their attention to their food he asked, “How did you find out about the court date?”

“Keiji told me, and Rosa confirmed it,” Shouyou replied, quieter this time. “Why didn’t you-?”

“We’re not talking about this.”

“Of course not!” Shouyou huffed. “I tell you about everything my sister and school and volleyball and you never tell me anything! You always find some excuse to keep me and everyone else at arm’s length. I understand it, I mean… I try to, but sometimes it feels like you don’t trust me or something!” Shouyou stopped, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as though he had more to say but lost the words. He blinked then met Koushi’s gaze with something that was almost fear. “You trust me, right?”

Koushi swallowed the sour feeling that weighed heavy on his tongue, and tried to ignore the tightness of his throat, it felt like someone had shoved cotton down it. “Shouyou,” Koushi said slowly and carefully. For a second, the boy looked almost excited. “Get back to work.”

And just like that, Shouyou’s face fell. He seemed on the verge of speaking again – probably yelling knowing him – but Koushi didn’t take that chance. He turned and started back towards his tables, forcing a smile as he apologized for the wait. 

Shouyou didn’t so much as look at him for the rest of his shift, and his other co-workers spent that time shooting glares his way. If he’d had the energy to feel bad, he probably would have, but between trying to control the shaking of his hands and the spiraling of his mind, Koushi was pretty occupied. Thankfully, his shift ended at five, and he was freshly showered, out the door, and down the street not thirty minutes later.

Koushi wasn’t actually aware of where he was going. He didn’t have a plan, he just walked. His phone felt heavy in his pocket. He could call Daichi. But for what? He wasn’t in danger, wasn’t breaking down, he was just… exhausted and maybe a bit mad. Part of him wanted to call Shouyou and explain, but there had been something final in that last, sad glare Shouyou had given him. That bridge was burned, and maybe it was for the better. At least he wouldn’t come to the trial and see how disgusting Koushi was, how much Koushi had lied to him. If Shouyou thought Koushi didn’t trust him now, it would be a disaster after the trial.

He was wandering around another side street when his phone buzzed and for a second hope bubbled in his chest. He fished out his phone faster than he cared to admit and looked at the newest message he had received.

_ Tuesday 5:58pm _

**Keiji Akaashi**

Can we meet somewhere? We need to talk.

Upon seeing the name, the hope drained from him in the same way air drains from a popped balloon, slowly then all at once. He wasn’t sure why he was so disappointed that it was Keiji, just that he was. He didn’t let himself linger on that thought for long because other thoughts came back. They did need to talk. Keiji had told Shouyou something he had no right sharing and Koushi wanted an explanation. Five minutes later Koushi was walking again, this time, with a purpose.

The walk to the park where he was meeting Keiji was a nice one, aside from the feeling of eyes constantly watching him. Every other corner Koushi passed, he noticed baseball hat or a hoodie and it sent his pulse skyrocketing. The downside of walking was that it wasn’t working, there was nothing to distract him. Not even the paranoia could keep his brain occupied for long. His thoughts skipped around from his conversation with Shouyou to the questions Tooru had given, the ones he looked at every night before he went to bed, to Daichi, leaning forward, glancing at Koushi’s lips then freezing and pulling away. Koushi wasn’t sure if he was thankful or not for Daichi’s sudden reconsideration.

Koushi would have walked passed the park if it hadn’t been for the small movement in the corner of his eye. Keiji was perched on a park bench, poised as always. Back in college, he’d always been comfortable in his own skin, but now Keiji seemed even more confident and carried himself with new assurance. It was probably the job, or maybe it was just that he looked more confident in comparison.

Keiji looked up as Koushi made his way over, expecting and unsurprised. Koushi couldn’t say he’d ever seen Keiji truly surprised except for their reunion all those months ago. Keiji rose from the bench, letting his phone fall into one of his pockets as he moved forward.

“Hey,” Koushi said, stopping in front of his friend. He was thankful that he and Keiji had never really hugged or high fived or did anything fancy whenever they’d met up back in college, it made their meetings now so much easier. “How are you?”

“I am well,” Keiji said with a nod. “You?”

“Fine,” Koushi replied a bit too quickly. Before he could meet Keiji’s skeptical glance, he turned and looked down the near-empty path. As upset as he had been, Koushi realized that he wanted to have this conversation less and less. “Dinners a little ways away, should we start off?”

“I was hoping we could talk first,” Keiji said.

Koushi turned slowly and forced a small smile, ignoring the twisting of his gut. He followed Keiji back to the park bench and both of them sat down. Keiji didn’t meet Koushi’s eyes. He just stared ahead, expression passive as always, but there was a small twitch in his foot and a few deep breaths that Koushi only noticed because he knew what ticks he was looking for. Everyone had nervous ticks, Koushi was sure he could identify them in most of his friends, though he tried not to. It felt invasive to be able to read a person that well, and it reminded him that if he could see it in them, they could see it in him as well.

Of course, it didn’t take much brainpower to put together what Keiji wanted to talk about. As much as Koushi was a feeler, Keiji was a thinker, perhaps that was really what brought them together as friends. Koushi shifted in his seat and looked over the park, eyes following a couple as they walked down the street. “What did you want to talk about?”

Keiji rolled his shoulders back and shifted to look at Koushi. “I called Mori and Taka.”

Koushi wasn’t surprised, but hearing it from Keiji still put a cold spike through his chest. “Did you?”

“Yes,” Keiji’s stern expression softened. “You can’t keep hiding from them forever. They care about you, Mori said that he misses you and I am sure Taka feels the same. They both would like to come up for the trial if you agree of course.”

The cold spike in Koushi’s chest hardened and twisted, making it nearly impossible to breathe or move. “You… told them?”

“Only the date, the basics of the situation,” Keiji explained, voice calm as ever. “And where you’ve been. I didn’t tell them anything else.”

“You still told them!” Koushi snapped.

Mori and Taka knew, maybe not everything but they were both smart. It wouldn’t be long before they put the pieces together and realized what had happened, what he had done. The cold in Koushi’s chest spread down his arms in shivers and up his neck to try out his mouth, stealing his ability to speak. Keiji had told them. He shared Koushi’s darkest secret freely and easily and Mori and Taka could easily spread the story themselves. Shouyou, Mori, Taka, how many more people would come to watch Koushi tear himself apart on the stand? How many more people would come to learn the filth he carried?

“I didn’t tell them everything, only about the trial and that you are living in L.A.” Keiji sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, brushing some of it out of his eyes. “They either found out through me, through you, or through the media. You weren’t doing anything and I refused to let them find out through a newscaster. They were both very understanding. Mori even-”

“I never said that you could  _ tell _ them,” Koushi cut Keiji off quickly. He didn’t want to know what Mori thought or said or did or felt. He didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to pretend that this had happened even. He closed his eyes, his fingers falling together to pick at whatever skin or nail or cuticle they could. The small, hot pain was a welcomed distraction and anchored him so he didn’t lose himself in his thoughts. “I said that I would  _ consider _ telling them, but I didn’t give permission for  _ you _ to tell them. And now they… they know… and th-they’re gonna tell people, and people are going to know what I did and what happened. Th-they’re gonna know. They can’t know…”

“Koushi?” The sound of Keiji’s voice was enough to tell Koushi what face his friend was making. “They won’t tell anyone. You know how Mori and Taka are.”

“No, I don’t!” Koushi’s head flew up and his eyes snapped onto Keiji’s. “It’s been eight years. I don’t know them anymore, and they don’t know me! Clearly, you don’t either.”

Keiji’s worried expression broke into something more concerned and more hurt. He reached forward and Koushi flinched away from the touch, moving to the other side of the bench. “They are your friends, they deserve to know.”

“Maybe, but I should be the one deciding that,” Koushi said.

Keiji dipped his head, breaking away from Koushi’s gaze, and Koushi turned, looking back over the park. “I’m sorry, but I still… I don’t think you should leave them in the dark. I know you might not believe it, but they  _ do _ care, Koushi. We all do. We’re worried for you, we want to help.” Keiji let out a breath and turned so he was looking over the park again. “We want to help you Koushi, but you have to let us in like you let Captain Sawamura in.”

Frowning, Koushi said, “What does Daichi have to do with any of this?”

“He’s the only person you’ve opened up to since the… incident,” Keiji replied simply as though stating an obvious fact.

“I let  _ you _ in,” Koushi said. He didn’t mean to sound bitter or snappy but he did. “I told  _ you _ what happened.”

No hurt crossed Keiji’s face, only a soft understanding and Koushi hated it. “But you never let me  _ help _ you. You told me what happened and then we moved on. We’ve never talked about it, never discussed what I can do to help you heal. But without any thoughts you let Captain Sawamura in, you text, you meet for dinner. You care about him, Koushi.”

For a moment, the world paused and any air died in Koushi’s lungs. “I… of course I do, he’s a friend!”

Keiji looked unconvinced. “You can admit you like him, there’s no shame in it, just don’t push him away like you are doing with everyone else. He cares about you, Koushi. You shouldn’t punish him or yourself for that.”

“I’m not… I don’t…” As Koushi tried to find the words, images flashed across his mind: Daichi sitting across from him at a bus stop, listening, talking, sharing bits of himself, Daichi across a table, smiling and laughing, Daichi watching him as though every word he had to say was important. No matter how closed off Koushi was, he was always there, one call away. That knowledge was a soothing blanket for even Koushi’s worst nightmares. But he couldn’t take the next step. He couldn’t do that to Daichi. Crushes lead to relationships, which lead to touches and kisses and then sex. The very thought sent a wave of nausea through Koushi. The last person, the last people to touch him had been… anything but pleasant. He couldn’t imagine it any other way now. Once Daichi realized that their relationship would lack the physical intimacies romantic relationships were supposed to have, he’d realize just how broken Koushi was and he’d leave.

No matter what happened it would end, and Koushi wasn’t sure he could manage another shattered relationship. Not after the last one left him so shredded and bloodied. 

“Koushi, are you alright?” Keiji asked softly. His fingers twitched like he wanted to reach out across the space between them, but he didn’t. For that Koushi was thankful, even if he was still mad. “You look pale.”

Koushi rose abruptly. He could be here. He needed space. He needed to think. “I just… I need to go.”

Keiji rose after him, following him the first few steps. “Can I at least walk you back to the restaurant?”

“No! I… I need space, I’m sorry.”

“At least text me to let me know that you go back safely?”

Koushi ignored Keiji’s requester as he walked down the sidewalk and away from the thoughts haunting his mind.

 

* * *

 

_ Friday, July 22, 2016 _

_ 11:43 pm _

For once, it wasn’t the paperwork that kept him late. It was just the lawyer. A week until opening statements and Tooru was restless. With nowhere else to turn, the attorney came to the headquarters to run his opening statement again… and again… and again… and again. By eleven only Hajime and Daichi were left. Daichi had long since stopped giving feedback, after a while, there was only so much he could do, and Hajime was there to make sure Tooru was actually eating and drinking and sleeping.

Daichi opened his eyes and sat up, his back giving an angry crack. Rubbing his eyes he glanced around and frowned. It had been a while since he’d fallen asleep at his desk like a drained college student. The office was quiet, which meant one of two things: Hajime had gotten Oikawa to leave, or they’d both fallen asleep arguing. It was flip of the coin as to which one had occurred.

Glancing at his phone for the time, Daichi rose to stretch and began to pack his things. No matter what the outcome of Hajime and Tooru’s “discussion” had been, it was no longer Daichi’s problem if they were this quiet. He organized the rest of the documents and was placing the folder back on his shelf when his phone rang. A glance at the number told him nothing other than that it was a San Diego number and not an L.A. number. Something swirled in his gut, he couldn’t place exactly what the feeling was, but he didn’t like.

Without too much thought he answered the call, “Captain Sawamura of Homicides and Major crimes, what can I do for you?”

“This is Keiji Akaashi, thank you for picking up.” The man on the other end let out a small breath of air. “I was wondering if you heard anything from Koushi recently?”

As much as Daichi wished he could say yes, the truth was that he hadn’t received anything from Koushi in a week. He hadn’t called either, but that was a different story. The last time he’d met with Suga, they’d almost kissed and Suga had looked… terrified? Daichi wasn’t sure what the expression had been, but it hadn’t been good. Between the fear and the work he had to do, Daichi hadn’t found time to call Suga or walk to the restaurant, as much as Tetsurou had been bothering him to do so. So no, he hadn’t heard from Suga, at least not recently.

“I haven’t,” Daichi admitted, softly. “Why do you ask?”

The other end of the line was silent, except for small breaths and the faint sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor. “I met with him earlier this evening,” Officer Akaashi admitted, “We had an argument and went our separate ways. I asked him to let me know if he got back to the restaurant. He didn’t.” Akaashi didn’t sound surprised or even annoyed. In fact, the only reason Daichi was aware that the other officer was scared in any regard was the shortness of his breaths and the shuffling of his movement. “I stopped by the restaurant to make sure everything was okay but Rosalinda hasn’t seen him since his shift. He wasn’t in his room either. I’m not saying something happened to him, but I’m worried.”

The officer stopped and let out another breath. Daichi gave a faint hum to let the other know that he was still on the line but kept silent. Even across the line, Daichi sensed that there was more that Officer Akaashi wanted to say. Instead of explaining the younger officer said, “I’m in the lobby, we should talk there.”

“I’ll be down in five,” Daichi replied.

Really, it was seven, but that was only because of the elevator. The lobby was dark, save for two rows of lights on either side. Officer Akaashi was leaning up against the reception desk, eyes on his phone. He looked up the moment Daichi stepped out of the elevator, his heavy-lidded eyes bright with… something.

“You said you and Suga had a fight?” Daichi said after crossing the distance to the receptionist desk.

There was half a second where the officer was trying to piece something together. After that moment he shook his head, “Our fight isn’t important.” Daichi disagreed but he figured he could talk to Suga about it later. “I don’t think anything happened, but I want to make sure. I would go look for him but I don’t think he’d like to see me right now. Besides, you and Kou… you and Suga have a lot to talk about.”

Daichi raised an eyebrow. How did what he and Suga should or shouldn’t talk about make any difference? Something in Officer Akaashi’s stony expression told Daichi that he wouldn’t be getting any answers anytime soon. He wondered, not for the first time, how Suga could be such good friends with someone so distant and cold.

As if sensing Daichi’s doubts, the officer continued a new desperation in his words, “You’d know where he is, and he’d listen to you. You’d be able to help him.”

“I’m not sure about that…”

“He trusts you,” Keiji didn’t sound sad, only factual as he spoke, “You call, he calls back. You text, he responds. When you meet up, he talks. He talks to you, he asks you for help. He’s not cautious around you.”

Unsure of how to respond to that, Daichi nodded and said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Walking around downtown L.A. while looking for Suga brought back an odd sling of memories from over five years ago. Of course, that time he’d been in Southern L.A. and hadn’t known Suga as anything but a witness who had vanished off the face of the earth. Now, after months of knowing Suga, Daichi had a good feeling that Suga was still in downtown L.A. Despite wanting to leave so badly, he wouldn’t because he felt as though he couldn’t. Thought, as it turned out, was a good a cage as anything else.

He wasn’t sure what brought him to the park. Since the incident, Daichi hadn’t so much as thought of coming back here. But it was worth a try, and Keiji hadn’t checked this far south. It was a hike, but something about the location and the reason seemed enough to draw Daichi. He hadn’t walked – he didn’t hate himself that much – and it was close enough to midnight that finding parking wasn’t an issue.

There were a number of people in the park, but Daichi was unconcerned when it came to them or what they were doing (legal or otherwise). He was only looking for one person.

Daichi almost walked past Suga. The other man was tucked under a tree, hidden in the shadows, and knees drawn to his chest, making him smaller. Suga’s chin was resting on his knees, but his eyes were light-years away, staring at something in the distance that Daichi could only guess. He didn’t look at Daichi when Daichi walked off the path and started towards him, which prompted Daichi to stop a few feet away as to not startle him too much.

“Suga? Suga?” Daichi called softly.

Two blinks and a subtle shake of his head, and Suga’s eyes snapped to Daichi’s. For a second, his eyes softened and he had a look like he was about to smile, but something must have clicked because in a blink he was scowling. “What are you doing here?”

Daichi took a few more steps, and when Suga didn’t cower away, he sat down across from him, back against a park bench. “Officer… Keiji called me. You hadn’t texted so he went to check if you-”

“Great. Of course, he called you!” Suga buried his head in his hands and continued to mumble. “Just couldn’t leave it alone, could he? Since when did my business become his business!”

Blinking, Daichi sat back, unsure of what to make of Suga’s rambling. It didn’t help that he couldn’t hear all of it either. Was this what he and Keiji had argued about? “Suga, Keiji just called to tell me that you were-”

“I’m sorry he told you,” Suga said into his hands. “I didn’t tell him to do that. I actually thought that he would listen to me and leave me alone. I don’t know why he thinks that he has any right to go around and tell people-”

“Suga!”

Suga’s mumbling stopped but he didn’t look up.

Daichi took that as a good thing and proceeded slowly, hoping that Suga wouldn’t start his muffled mumbling again. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Keiji called me to tell me that you hadn’t made it back to the restaurant by eleven thirty and was worried about you. He knew you didn’t particularly want to see him and asked me to look around. He just wanted to make sure you were okay. That’s all he said to me.”

Suga peeked out from his hands but didn’t lift his face from his knees. “Really?”

Nodding, Daichi replied, “Really.”

With a groan, Suga buried his face back into his knees, and Daichi’s stomach dropped. He waddled forward awkwardly, too lazy to stand up fully, and knelt in front of Suga. He considered reaching out, oh did he want to reach out and run his fingers through the silver hair. But his kept his hands firmly on his sides.

“Are you okay?”

Suga gave a small grunt as a reply.

Frowning, Daichi reached forward slowly. He wasn’t sure how much Suga could see between his so he was careful not to make the touch too bold. He rested his fingers on that back of Suga’s wrists, and when Suga didn’t pull away he took both wrists in his hands and gently pulled them from Suga’s face.

He wasn’t sure what he expected to see: tears, maybe, or anger. But when Suga blinked up at Daichi, the only thing that really stood out was the redness of his cheeks that cloaked the bridge of his nose and cascaded down his neck, disappearing under his shirt. If Daichi positioned his fingers just right, he could feel the fluttering of Suga’s heartbeat. They sat knee to knee, hand in hand, face to face.

With a small squeak, Suga took his hand back, and curled back on himself, looking anywhere but Daichi as the red flooded up to his ears. “S-sorry. I… I’m fine!”

There was something endearing about the flush and the awkwardness that put a dumb – at least he assumed it was dumb – smile on Daichi’s face. The memory of Suga’s pulse taking off like a rabbit when their eyes met sent Daichi’s heart into overdrive. Suga was cute. No, cross that, he was adorable, absolutely, undeniably, adorable.

“Why are you embarrassed?” Daichi asked softly, sitting back to give Suga room if he needed it.

He didn’t move. Just stayed, rooted in the ground, chewing on his bottom lip. “It’s nothing…” Suga glanced back to Daichi, meeting his gaze timidly. He didn’t look embarrassed anymore, only terrified. “Keiji didn’t tell you anything, did he?”

Daichi frowned. “Didn’t tell me about what?”

“It’s nothing!” Suga went back to staring at the ground and Daichi went back to watching Suga. He was still beet red – which, yes, was very cute – but there was something in his eyes that Daichi didn’t like. He looked like a deer in the headlights, as if panic was only a step away.

“Suga?”

“Fine… I’m fine,” he mumbled, and in a blink, the panic was gone. Not gone, Daichi was sure that if he looked enough it was still there but hidden away under an ever-present blush.

Daichi pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand. “Ready to head back?”

After a second of hesitation, Suga took Daichi’s hand and pulled himself to his feet. He was light, though that wasn’t much of a surprise considering his build. For a second their hands remained interlocked. Daichi made no move to pull away, happy to feel the warm fingers tangled with his own.

Suga’s eyes dropped to their hands. The red across his cheeks darkened, and for a second he just stared at where their fingers met. After that second was over, he pulled his hand free.

“I’ll drive you back to the restaurant.”

Suga looked on the verge of arguing, but his glanced down at his hands, balled tightly together and gave a small nod. “Thank you.”

Daichi smiled. “It’s nothing.”

The drive was quiet, as most of their drives were. The music was a faint cover for the lingering confusion and embarrassment. For the most part, Suga’s eyes were elsewhere – the window, the road ahead of them, his hands – but once or twice Daichi glanced towards the man on his right just enough to see Suga watching him with an almost blank expression. Daichi was sure that if he actually had a chance to stop and look he’d be able to take a guess as what was going through Suga’s mind. But even then he wasn’t sure he’d ever really know, and as frustrating as that was there was something beautiful there as well. More to learn more to explore, if he ever got the chance.

Daichi got out when Suga got out, though he didn’t walk him to the door. Only watched. “Please text Keiji, I think he’d like to hear from you.” Suga frowned. “I know you two had a fight. I don’t know what it’s about, and I’m not going to ask but… if you want to talk I’m here.”  _ I’m always here if you need me. _ “And please be careful about wandering off. Tooru would be really upset if you were hurt.”

Suga raised an eyebrow. “Tooru?”

“Well,” Daichi cleared his throat with an awkward cough, trying to ignore the heat that flooded his cheeks. “Not just Tooru.”

Even in the faint light, Daichi could see Suga’s face reddening again. It was easy to make him blush, wasn’t it? That was certainly a fun discovery that set free a little butterfly in Daichi’s chest and made him smile.

“Good night, Daichi.”

“Good night, Suga.”

Daichi was so preoccupied with his revelation on Suga’s blushing, that he almost missed the smile Suga sent him before disappearing inside. It wasn’t one of his small, timid ones. It was as bright as what he had seen in the pictures but softer, kinder, more… affectionate? It was beautiful, as everything that Suga did was.

He slipped back into the car and sunk back into the seat. He’d never seen a smile like that before… not on Suga. So warm and affectionate. It didn’t occur to Daichi what any of it meant until he was halfway to his house. He slammed on the breaks and blinked at the empty road in front of him.

Did Suga…like him? No… he couldn’t.

But the stammering and smile and the blush told a different story.


	28. Trial - Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this came so late, it's been a crazy week. I hope you all enjoy some more fluff and all that jazz, y'all deserve it, certainly. This was one of my favorite chapters to write, so I hope you all enjoy it! 
> 
> TW: Asexual Erasure (if you have any questions about this, don't be scared to ask me. I am asexual and would gladly talk to anyone about this), anxiety, mentions of past forced prostitution

_ Monday, July 25, 2016 _

_ 11:13 pm _

Koushi awoke, for once not because of a nightmare but because of the growling of his stomach. He sat up slowly and looked at the clock on his desk, the only light in his room – not counting the window, which let in plenty of light from the nearby street. For a moment, he considered ignoring his gut, rolling over, and forcing himself to sleep, but when his stomach growled again he rose. It wasn’t like he was going to get much more sleep tonight anyway.

He made his way to the apartment’s kitchen, but one look into the fridge told him that there were no leftovers that could go straight into the microwave. He could make something or turn on the oven and bake, but his stomach growled and the clock flashed eleven fifteen and Koushi didn’t have it in him to do anything but eat. So he wandered downstairs instead.

There was nothing strange at first. The lights were on in the kitchen and in the restaurant itself, but Koushi didn’t think much of it. Rosa was probably finishing cleaning. Hopefully, that meant she would leave him alone and he could sneak back upstairs before she noticed. The voices coming from the restaurant were what caught his attention.

Koushi didn’t hear them until he was in the fridge, pulling out a box of leftover gnocchi. There were two of them, Rosa was one, he could pick out her rounded vowels anywhere. The second was too deep to be Shouyou and couldn’t be Asahi – not soft enough, plus he was still working at the hospital – and it certainly wasn’t Tooru. Too tired to think, Koushi set the gnocchi on the counter and tiptoed to the door that looked out into the restaurant.

He pushed the door open a crack and peered out. Rosa was seated at a booth. Across from her, with his back to Koushi, was Daichi. Koushi’s stomach dropped and his heart bubbled. He felt sick, but he couldn’t turn away. He wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“I’m worried about him,” Daichi said.

Rosa nodded. “We all are, but he just needs space. Give it to him and he’ll open up sooner or later.”

“Is space really what he needs?”

“He was like this when he first moved in with me,” Rosa said after taking a sip from the mug in front of her. “He wouldn’t talk, wouldn’t look at anyone. He was scared of his own shadow. He warmed up eventually. I think… I think after everything that’s happened he’s pulled himself back into his shell again. Give him some time and he’ll open up.”

“How much time?”

Rosa shook her head and dipped her head and looked into her drink. “I wish I could say, but your guess is as good as mine. You’ve been talking to him a lot, what do you think?”

Daichi shifted in his seat, though with his back to the kitchen Koushi was left to guess his expression. It was probably a frown, or that concerned knit he got in his eyebrows. “We haven’t spoken a lot…recently.”

From across the restaurant, Koushi couldn’t quite make out Rosa’s expression, but something about her darkened. “Why not?”

Daichi didn’t reply. Koushi waited, breathe still, heart pounding, but the words never came. It should have been easy. It was, after all, Koushi’s fault. Daichi should have been able to admit it. They had the chance to reconnect but Koushi had cut him off, again. The longer the silence stretched the more Koushi’s gut twisted. He couldn’t tell if that was from the sudden nerves or the hunger. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

After an impossibly long stretch of time, Rosa sighed. “Suga can be… difficult to understand.” She spoke as though she were talking about her grandchildren. She had the same smile on to, though it was tinted with sadness. “He’s quick to frighten and can react unexpectedly at times. It’s why I’m so careful around him.”

“So you don’t push him,” Daichi said.

“I don’t want to make him uncomfortable,” Rosa replied.

“What if he needs a push though?”

Rosa dropped her gaze back to her drink, and she took a long sip instead of replying. Koushi was tempted to slip away, he could have done so there, just taken a step back, grabbed the gnocchi, and gone upstairs. But he was rooted in place by the slow but deep pounds of his heart and the curiosity on his tongue. He didn’t  _ want _ to hear Rosa’s reply, but he  _ needed _ to.

“He’s not something fragile and breakable,” Daichi continued.

“But he is!” Rosa snapped and the looked away, as though too ashamed to meet Daichi’s gaze. “You didn’t see him then, when I first found him. Sometimes he was fine, other times…” Her voice quivered slightly. “I found him in the bathroom once in the middle of the night, crying, cutting at his chest as though he was trying to tear out his heart. One word, one flower can send him spiraling. I never want to be the cause of that.”

The scar below Koushi’s collar-bone ached. He remembered that night. He’d tried to remove their marking, tried to distance himself from the White Lilies. Now, the scar only served as a reminder of the lingering pain. He hadn’t realized that he’d left some of that pain with Rosa as well.

“I understand that,” Daichi said after a moment’s pause. “I do. But there’s something we need to talk about it.”

Suga had a feeling he knew what that something was, and that put a sour flavor in his mouth. He didn’t want to have that discussion. Not after what happened four days ago.

“If he wants to talk, he’ll talk,” Rosa said. “Right now, he needs space.”

“Can you say that for certain? Does he need space, or does he just think he does?”

Rosa looked up from her mug and for a few seconds just stared at the man across from her. To Daichi’s credit, he didn’t flinch or cower, at least not noticeably. There was part of Koushi that wanted to throw open the door and yell, because how could either of them know what he needed when he wasn’t sure himself. But he was trapped, routed in place by their words as they cut him open and looked at him from the inside out. The two people who knew the most about him, talking, that was almost as scary as any gun Koushi had seen.

After a moment, Rosa looked away. “I don’t know… I don’t know. Maybe you should talk to him. He’d listen to you. He’d talk to you.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Daichi’s reply came so quickly is almost knocked Koushi off balance. There was another silence, and Rosa shot Daichi a look. This one must have been sharper than the last because Daichi squirmed but after a breath began to speak again, “He doesn’t want to see me. I think… Actually, I’m sure that he’s figured out my feelings for him.”

If Koushi had been looking, he probably could have seen the blush that went from Daichi’s ears all the way down the back of his neck. If he had been listening, he would have heard the soft trepidation in Daichi’s voice. If he’d been watching, he might have seen Daichi look down, and Rosa sigh but smile. But Koushi wasn’t looking, or listening, or watching. He was frozen still as cold shivers raced up and down his spine. It was one thing to know, to put the pieces together and have someone else from the outside confirm those feelings. It was another for Daichi himself to say it.

“And I think,” Daichi continued softly, so softly that Koushi almost missed that the police captain was talking. “Part of the problem is that he feels the same way.”

Koushi stepped away from the door and let it fall shut with a soft click. He didn’t care if Rosa and Daichi heard it or not. He’d heard enough. Turning on his heels, he fled the kitchen, leaving in gnocchi on the counter. It wasn’t like he was hungry anymore. He took the steps two at a time, threw the door of the apartment open and let it slam closed behind him, not caring who heard. He crossed the room, turned down the hall, and once in his room, buried himself under the covers.

His face was hot, his whole body was hot. It was nearly impossible to breathe, maybe that was the covers or just the pounding in his chest, Koushi didn’t know and didn’t care. He just wanted it to stop. It was bad enough that Koushi knew what he was feeling, but now Daichi knew. That wouldn’t have been a problem for anyone else, but Koushi wasn’t anyone else.

Sure he liked Daichi, but it would never work out. Daichi would want more. He’d want touches, and kisses, and eventually sex. Koushi could only promise the first two things on good days when the world didn’t feel like swallowing him whole. But on days when he wanted nothing more than to skin himself alive when he wasn’t sure he could even manage a smile, he didn’t know how Daichi could react. He’d get sick of Koushi, of course, that much was obvious. And if it wasn’t the constant ups and downs that drove him away, it would be the sex or lack thereof.

The very thought of anyone touching him intimately made Koushi feel sick. If Koushi had had anything to eat, he’d probably throw up, but his stomach was gloriously empty, so instead, it just sloshed around, and bitterness sat on his tongue. Sex was out of the question. He always had the ghosts of hands caressing his body, he didn’t need real ones to do the same. And the moment Daichi realized that it would be over.

As much as Koushi liked Daichi, it just wouldn’t work out. He’d realized how broken Koushi was. Realized that Koushi could never be “fixed.” And he’d leave. That thought hurt more than anything else because he knew it, he could see it, and Daichi was too blind and too kind to realize that it was the truth.

He wasn’t sure how long he was curled under his covers, sniffling, shaking, and crying. But the door squeaked open, and someone took a step into his room, then stopped.

“Tesoro?”

Koushi tired to remain as still as possible. That was easy, he wasn’t moving anytime soon. But his breath was erratic and impossible to slow. Still, there was silence and he was sure she was gone.

“Suga, I know you’re awake,” Rosa’s voice cut through the room and burrowed under the blanket with Koushi. “Suga, please come out.”

Koushi didn’t make any attempt to move or prove that he was, in fact, awake. Rosa must have sensed or seen something though because there were a few more footsteps then the mattress dipped and a warm body pressed against Koushi’s back.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” Rosa said and her hand fell not on, but near Koushi’s back. “We were just worried and I thought you were still asleep. Had I know you were awake…” Her voice drifted up, broken and unsure.

Koushi had never heard Rosa sound so small. He also couldn’t remember the last time they had held this long of a long conversation – could this even be considered a conversation when Koushi wasn’t replying? As thankful as he was that they were finally talking, Koushi didn’t want this to be what they talked about. So he stared at the wall ahead of him and prayed that she’d get the message and leave him to his crying, alone.

“That young man really cares about you,” Rosa started again. Koushi could feel her shift as the mattress dipped under her. “This is the third day in a row he’s come during closing asking for you. You’ve been out so I haven’t… it wasn’t my choice to make if he could or couldn’t talk to you. I know you’re scared, but you can’t be scared forever. Hiding will only bring you misery.”

As Rosa sat in silence, Koushi stared at the wall ahead of him, gray in the dim city light. He knew Daichi cared; it was obvious now that he was aware of it. The looks, the smiles, the constant kindness. It had always been more than work for him, more than friendship, and that made Koushi’s chest swell and his stomach convulse. He was simultaneously walking on clouds and drowning. He was flying towards an infinite sky falling down into an endless pit. The feelings danced and twisted until Koushi couldn’t tell the difference between bliss and horror or excitement and anxiety.

“I just want what’s best for you,” Rosa continued after a moment. She let out a breath, loud in the silence. “I’ll give you your space. Ti voglio bene, Tesoro.”

The mattress shifted as she stood and before Koushi could think, he sat up and reached forward, grabbing Rosa’s sleeve. “Do you mean it?”

Rosa turned around. “What are you saying?”

“Do you still love me?”

“Of course I still love you!” Rosa sunk back into the bed, her hands turning to grip Koushi’s arms. “Where is this coming from?”

“You… we didn’t talk and I thought… I was sure you were  _ disgusted _ by me.”

Warm hands gripped his arms, and Rosa leaned forward to meet his gaze. “Why would I ever think that?”

“I lied to you!” Koushi said, pulling his arms free of her grip. He curled in on himself, eyes focusing anywhere that wasn’t the woman beside him. “I lied to you for fives years and I… I’ve done some terrible and disgusting things. Two people are dead because of me and I couldn’t talk to you and you didn’t talk to me. I just assumed… I mean, I figured that you realized what I was and what you had brought into your home.”

Rosa was quick to find his hands again, and this time she didn’t let him pull away when he tried. “I brought a wonderful young man into my home all those years ago. I’ve never thought differently. Yes, you lied and that hurt, but what hurt me more was the thought that you felt you had to keep that from me for so long. I wanted to give you a safe place and I failed you, Suga. For that, I am sorry. I’m sorry we never spoke about this sooner. I tried giving you the space I thought you needed, clearly, I was wrong. I want to help you, Suga, but you have to let me help you and tell me what you need.”

Koushi swallowed the lump in his throat and stared back at the woman next to him. “A… a hug would be nice.”

Rosa’s arms wrapped around him and he buried himself against her, hiding from the dark thoughts that crept along the corners of his mind. He sunk into her warm. “What should I do?” He said into he shoulder. “What should I tell Daichi?”

Rosa gave him a small squeeze and leaned her head against Koushi’s own. “What do you think you should say?”

“I don’t know,” Koushi mumbled. “I… I like him. A lot. He’s nice and thoughtful and kind, but I don’t know what to do. The last relationship I was in it… it didn’t end well. I don’t know how to like someone, Rosa.”

They pulled apart slightly to look at one another. Koushi blinked a few times, trying to hold the tears back, he hadn’t even notices they’d formed. Rosa lifted a worn hand and whipped away a stray tear that had escaped down his cheek.

“None of us truly know how to like someone,” she said softly, “But that is part of the fun, we figure it out as we go. As for talking to him, tell him what you just told me. You said it yourself, he’s a thoughtful man, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Koushi sniffled and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. “Th-thank you.”

Rosa smiled and kissed the top of his head. For a moment, Koushi was a child again, looking up into the eyes of his mother. He could just see her eyes and that was it. What did the rest of her look like again? When had Rosa’s face replaced that of his mother’s?

“If you care about someone, romantically or otherwise, you need to talk to them,” Rosa continued, running a hand through his hair. “If you don’t, things become messy. Sometimes, in order to have a conversation, you have to be the one to start it. Please remember that.”

Koushi gave a soft hum in response. He wasn’t sure what else he could add.

“Get some sleep, Tesoro. You’re going to need it in the coming days. We’ll talk more tomorrow, bene?”

“Yeah, okay.” Koushi sunk back into his pillow. With one last smile, Rosa slipped out of his room. Koushi watched her until the door closed, and then he listened to her footsteps until he could hear no more. After releasing another breath of air, Koushi let his eyes fall closed and listened to the sound of cars and sirens until he fell asleep.


	29. Trial - Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff and forgiveness and cutness~ 
> 
> Also... only one more chapter and an "epilogue" of sorts before this thing is done. I've never written something this long or with a plot this convoluted, so thank you all for putting up with me and leaving wonderful comments. I didn't think anyone would really care about a bunch of random ramblings but here we are. Have a good week and happy Turkey Day for those who observe!
> 
> TW: talking about past forced prostitution, asexual easure

_Wednesday, July 27, 2016_

_2:20 pm_

Rosa gave him a full twenty-four hours before she began giving him expecting looks. While he and Rosa didn’t speak too much, Koushi spent most of his Tuesday in Tooru’s office struggling through his direct, he could tell within an hour or so that his co-workers knew that something had changed. They whispered amongst themselves but they were more relaxed, smiled more, and some of the brave ones even approached him with short bits of conversation, though no questions.

Despite the change, Shouyou didn’t talk to him. Koushi wasn’t surprised, not after their last conversation, but it made trying to approach him hard. So when Koushi noticed Shouyou taking off his apron for his fifteen-minute break, Koushi didn’t hesitate to toss his own and follow him into the area by the stairs. When Koushi slipped through the " _employee-only"_ doors, Shouyou was already seated at the base of the stairs, checking his phone and taking a sip of water.

“Shouyou,” Koushi called. The boy looked up and his expression shifted into confusion laced with obvious interest. “C-can we talk?”

Pouting like a grumpy twelve-year-old Shouyou asked, “I don’t know, can we or will this be put off until later?”

“As long as we keep it under fifteen minutes it should be fine.”

That seemed to pacify him because the boy scooted over and allowed Koushi to sit beside him on the step. He was surprisingly quiet, though his bright expression said everything that he did not.

After letting out a breath Koushi began, “I’m sorry for making you feel like I didn’t trust you. I did… I do, it’s just… I didn’t want you to change your opinion of me.”

“Why would I do that?” Shouyou asked.

“I’ve done some pretty terrible things,” Koushi said softly, “Both to you and in general. I’m not who you think I am.”

Shouyou frowned. “What do you mean? You’re Suga. You’re nice, and kind, and make sure that Angie doesn’t yell at me, and you got me this job when I needed it. We’ve all done some bad things, but all of that’s in the past.”

Koushi wished that he was in a place to believe that, but maybe, just maybe, when this damn trial was through he could begin thinking about the past as the past. “I’m not Suga Michimiya. I mean… I am, but that’s not my name. My real name is Koushi Sugawara.”

Shouyou cocked his head, and for about five seconds, silence descended on the stairwell. Then the younger boy’s eyes lit up and he sat up, leaning forward into Koushi’s space. “Are you a spy?”

“I- what? No? No, I’m not…”

“Oh…” Shouyou deflated for a second and then popped back up again. “So why did you have to hide your name?”

“I was running away from a gang,” Koushi replied, looking away, “And the police…”

“So you _were_ a spy!”

“No, I wasn’t!” Koushi insisted. “I just… I worked for the gang for a while with a… a good friend of mine, Yui. When she was killed I ran, but I didn’t want to admit what had happened or face the police, I didn’t think they’d believe me or trust because of what I was doing, so I ran. Rosa found me, picked me up off the street and I’ve been living with her ever since. When she asked for my name I lied. Honestly, I’m surprised it lasted this long. All it would have taken was one Google search…”

“You’re lucky that she sucks at using technology,” Shouyou replied.

Koushi snorted. “I guess I am.”

“So you were part of a gang…” Shouyou mumbled. “Did you like beat people up or something?”

“Not quite. I wasn’t really _part_ of them more like… _associated_ with them.” Shouyou looked about ready to make another guess and Koushi was done with beating around the bush. “I was a prostitute, Shouyou. I had sex with men, and sometimes women, to make money. All the money I made went to my pimp who was a member of the White Lilies.”

“Oh,” Shouyou’s open expression softened into something almost apologetic. “I… I’m sorry. That's really terrible.”

“Yeah, it is,” Koushi agreed.

Once again, silence settled over them. As uncomfortable as it made Koushi he didn’t push, only sat back and let Shouyou get his bearings. He deserved that much, it was a lot to process.

After a few moments, Shouyou looked up and back towards Koushi. “Thank you for telling me,” he said much too softly to be actual words from Shouyou Hinata. “You mentioned the death of your friend. Is that what the trial is for then?”

Koushi nodded. “How much do you know?”

Shouyou shifted. “Just that you’re testifying against some guy, but not the guy who killed the girl here – he’s dead apparently – another guy who killed another girl before you came here. I don’t know… Keiji tried to explain it but it’s all very confusing!”

Koushi couldn’t argue with that. It was confusing even to him. “That’s a... simplified version of what happened. The man I’m testifying against is Tomi Murtas, he’s the one who shot and killed Yui five years ago. He’s also a human trafficker for the White Lilies. The man who shot and killed the woman out in our alley was André Kato.”

“Why isn’t he being charged?”

“He’s already dead.”

Shouyou’s eyes went wide. “What happened?”

Koushi rubbed the back of his neck. “You can ask Keiji that…” He glanced down at his phone and frowned. “I’d like to talk more, but we should get back to work.”

Shouyou nodded, took one last sip of water, and jumped back up onto his feet. He tossed his stuff on one of the hooks hanging outside of the kitchen. But before going back out into the restaurant he glanced back to Koushi. “Can I come to your trial?”

Koushi froze, the strings of his apron slipping between his fingers. His chest tightened, his throat closed. Shouyou already knew everything but there would be a lot more detail there, a lot more of his lies and stories revealed. The thought of Shouyou sitting in the audience listening to any of that, being anywhere near Tomi Murtas, made him sick.

He swallowed and looked at the boy smiling at him and imagined what it would be like to take the stand, look out into the audience and see that smile.

Koushi found himself nodding, “I would like that.”

Later that afternoon, Koushi found himself standing back in front of the police headquarters. He took a deep breath and pulled open the door. The receptionist mumbled a hello, but for the most part was more invested in whatever was on her computer screen than whoever was in the room. Koushi made his way to the elevator and inside the elevator without being questioned.

He’d texted Keiji that he was on his way over. The text had been read, but no response had been sent. Koushi’s only hope was that Keiji wasn’t in any important meetings and that the lack of reply was simply either laziness or Keiji feeling that a reply was inadequate. Koushi tried not to dwell on the strangeness of it all.

The elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors slid open faster than Koushi would have thought. He didn’t let himself hesitate as he stepped out of the elevator and turned down the hall. It was either now or never. The good news was, Koushi had already seen Keiji’s new office so he knew where he was going. Still, there was always the chance that he took the wrong turn or knocked on the wrong door. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was even going to say when he reached Keiji. There was a lot to talk about and Koushi wasn’t quite sure where to start.

He didn’t have a lot of time to consider that though because he was in front of Keiji’s door before he knew it. He knocked once and stepped back, ready to walk away if Keiji was busy.

“Come in, Koushi,” Keiji said from the other side of the door.

Keiji stepped inside, letting the door fall closed. Keiji was typing away on his computer, and Koushi plopped down in one of the chairs at the table across from the desk.

After a handful of long and quiet seconds, Keiji must have finished whatever he was working on, or at least found a stopping point because he rose from his desk, walked around it, and sat himself down across from Koushi.

“What’s up?”

The script Koushi had been preparing in his head all but died. He shifted in his seat, fiddled with his hands, then sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Keiji looked taken aback and, despite his usual calm expression, seemed almost confused. “For what?”

“I’m sorry for snapping at you, and I’m sorry for not calling Taka and Mori. You were right, I should have told them myself. That doesn’t mean that I’m not still upset that you told them because I am. I understand that you’re testifying too but telling them about me… that’s something I should tell them. You should have respected my privacy, but I understand why you did what you did.”

Keiji nodded. “And I’m sorry for telling them. I should have realized what that meant to you I just-” He stopped himself and let out a small breath. “You know my thoughts on the entire situation. Now did you just come to apologize or...?”

“I also wanted to get their numbers from you again,” Koushi said after a moment of studying his hands. “I thought about what you and Tooru said about friendly faces and realized that if you and Daichi can’t be there when I testify, I’d like some other people there.”

Keiji smiled, “Good I’m glad.” He rose from his seat and crossed back to his desk to grab his phone. “I’ll text you their contact information again.”

“Yeah… thank you.”

“I have a little more work to do, but then I’m off. Would you like to go get dinner?”

Koushi stood up as well as he pulled out his phone. Keiji’s text appeared but he paid more attention to the number. “I’d love to, but I actually have one more call to make today and that might take a little bit.”

For a moment, Keiji stood, watching him with a critical eye. Then his expression softened into a small smile. “I’m happy for you, Koushi.”

Heat bubbled up across his cheeks as he looked away. “N-nothing’s happened yet.”

“But it will.”

Chewing on his lips, Koushi’s eyes dropped to his hand. “I… I hope so too.”

 

* * *

  

_Wednesday, July 27, 2016_

_6:07 pm_

When Daichi saw Suga’s name pop up on his phone his stomach dropped. There were only two days until the opening statements and four days until Suga’s testimony, so Daichi wasn’t surprised that Suga was stressed, though he was surprised that Suga was calling. He hadn’t expected much contact after Suga had overheard his and Rosa’s conversation. He was sure he hadn’t been very subtle, but he at least wanted to tell Suga to his face. So much for that.

Still, when Suga called, Daichi answered without hesitation.

“Daichi,” Suga said in lieu of a greeting. He sounded breathless and a little bit nervous, but too put together to be scared.

“Is everything alright?” Daichi asked.

“Yes, yes. Everything is fine,” Suga replied and Daichi believed him because he could hear the hint of a smile in his voice and it was glorious.

Daichi sunk back into his chair, he hadn’t noticed that he had stood up, and relaxed, any tension that had been building in his shoulder was gone. Though it was curious, Suga rarely called when he was in a good mood, that was what texting was for. Daichi couldn’t hide his curiosity and confusion when he spoke, “What’s up?”

“I’m not allowed to call if it isn’t an emergency?”

“No that’s not-” Daichi stopped when Suga began to laugh, honestly laugh on the other end. It wasn’t the breathy huff it was a twinkling sound that Daichi could listen to forever and never tire of.

“I was joking, Daichi.”

Joking… Suga had been making a joke? Daichi snorted in response and smiled against the phone, wishing that he could see what expression Suga was making. What he smiling? He had to have been. Was it a warm smile or was there a hint of mischief in it to match the tone of his voice? Was he blushing? There were too many questions, it was too easy to get distracted.

“Really though, what’s up? How are you?” Daichi hadn’t expected things to be this easy after the awkward confession, but he’d take it, even if it meant that pretending Monday night had never happened.

Suga let out a soft breath. “I was wondering if we could talk.”

“We’re talking now?”

“In person…”

Perhaps they were both in agreement then that Monday night had actually happened. Daichi wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but if it meant he could see Suga again he’d roll with it. He looked at the documents on his desk, quite frankly he was done for the day, had been for twenty minutes, it was just a matter of cleaning up and organizing, if he was in the mood.

“I can be over at the restaurant in twenty minutes if you want to grab a bite.”

There was a pause at the other end. “I’m actually already here,” Suga muttered, he sounded… flushed, embarrassed almost. “I was visiting Keiji and figured that now was as good as ever. If you want I could come up?”

“No,” Daichi said a bit too quickly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Suga, he always wanted to see Suga, but if Suga came up and they talked in his office, it would give the guys too much ammo. Tooru would also find out faster that way, and Daichi wanted to prolong that lecture for as long as he could.

“I’ll meet you in the lobby,” Daichi said. “Five minutes?”

“Five minutes.”

Suga was the one to end the call as suddenly as he had started it, Daichi wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He grabbed his wallet, put his phone his keys in his pocket and left his office. “I’m heading out for the day, you all are free to leave!” Daichi called over to the officer, only to receive a few grumbles back. As it turned out, he was the only one ahead of his paperwork.

The elevator came surprisingly quickly and Daichi stepped inside forcing himself not to over think Suga’s call. It could go well it could go poorly, but Suga’s laughter and teasing had to have been a good sign… right? Daichi wasn’t granted much time to ponder it because the elevator stopped on the fourth floor and the door opened, revealing Suga and Keiji, whispering to one another.

Upon noticing the elevator, Suga pulled away from his friend, pink blooming across his cheeks. “D-Daichi! Um… hi.” He turned to Keiji. There was a moment of silence that seemed filled with words Daichi was unaware of, but a moment later Suga was waving goodbye to his friend and hopping into the elevator. The door closed and they began their slow descent.

“So…”

“Um…”

They exchanged a glance that both of them quickly broke to stare off into the mirrors. Daichi cleared his throat with a small cough and in the mirror he watched Suga run a hand through his hair as if trying to flatten it or maybe brush it out of his eyes.

“How are you doing?” Daichi asked once the silence became too much for him.

Suga tore his eyes away from the mirror. “I’m alright?” He seemed surprised with his answer, smiling and nodding slightly. “Yeah… I’m alright. What about you?”

“Pretty good,” Daichi replied as the elevator slowed. They exited together and if the receptionist was surprised to see them walking so close she gave no indication. “It was a pretty slow day.”

“No more murders?”

“Not today. We just spent most of the day writing up a deal for some asshole.”

Suga wrinkled his nose. “Sounds fun.”

Daichi shrugged. “He’s going to jail for twelve years, so I can’t complain much.” They continued down the street. Being the peak of summer, it was hot in the shade and hell in the sun. Daichi wanted to be outside for a little as possible, and the flush on Suga’s cheeks – which was definitely from the heat and not from embarrassment – was enough to tell Daichi that Suga was thinking the same.

“I’m good with wherever you want to go.”

Without missing a beat, Suga pointed to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and bar. Not the best shelter from the heat, but air-conditioned, and frankly anything was better than nothing. They crossed the street and ducked inside. It wasn’t crowded, though it wasn’t empty either. Well lit, though not bright. They found a table in the corner and took it, Suga sitting against the wall to look over the restaurant, and Daichi with his back to the bar, not that he minded, he was more worried about Suga being comfortable and calm.

Daichi ordered a beer from one of the ones on tap, and much to his surprise, Suga ordered one as well. In the months of knowing Suga, Daichi hadn’t seen him drink. He hadn’t expected to either considering where Suga came from. When the beer came and Suga didn’t touch it, Daichi sighed and gave him a fond smile.

“You didn’t have to order anything, you know.”

Suga shrugged. “I’d feel bad otherwise. I’ll drink it, it’ll just… take a while.”

Daichi hummed and took a sit of his own drink. “What did you want to talk about?”

Suga shifted in his seat and his eyes fell to his hands, though he didn’t pick at his nails. Daichi sat back and waited, watching Suga. Whatever it was, Daichi didn’t expect a response right away.

Letting out a shaky breath, Suga eyed his drink, but didn’t reach for it, didn’t touch it. “I think we need to talk about Monday,” Suga said softly, his voice almost lost among the other shouts and bits of laughter coming from the bar.

Daichi’s stomach sunk. Right… Monday. There was a lot he needed to say, there was a lot he wanted to say, but he held his tongue and watched Suga, waiting and willing to listen because that was what was important. He could ignore the pounding of his heart or the shakiness in his hands for Suga, that was easy.

Suga, on the other hand, did not look so resigned to talk about what had occurred two days ago. He was pale, his hands were clenched together, though if they were apart Daichi was sure they’d be shaking, and his chest rose and fell sporadically. It hurt to watch, and as much as Daichi wanted to just reach across the table and rub out the anxiety or, hell, just hold Suga’s hand, he knew he couldn’t do that, knew that it would only cause Suga to panic more so he kept his distance and waited and watched.

After steadying his breath Suga began, “I think I should… I mean, I’m sorry for overhearing your conversation. I shouldn’t have, I’m sorry. I just… well… what I mean is… uh” Suga stumbled over his words. Daichi could only guess how messy his thoughts were, unsure of where he should begin.

“It’s okay. You have nothing to apologize for,” Daichi replied with a smile and Suga blinked at him as if startled by the fact that he didn’t have to apologize. “What happened, happened and I-” Now it was Daichi’s turn to falter. The words were there. He looked at Suga and smiled, relaxing against his seat. “I mean what I said. I like you, Suga. I like you a lot.”

Suga picked up his drink and took a long sip without any hesitation when he put the glass down his eyes fell to the table, but Daichi didn’t miss the red that danced across the bridge of his nose. “D-do you now?”

Daichi smiled, his embarrassment was sweet and earnest, endearing really. “I do.”

“I see…” Suga mumbled. Daichi could almost see the walls rising slowly as Suga sunk into his seat. He’d been so sure he understood Suga, but perhaps he had been wrong. The thought sent a spike through his chest

“You don’t have to do anything,” said Daichi quietly, carefully. “I want you to be happy and if that means we remain friends I’m okay with that. Okay?” It would take some healing, some getting used to, but Daichi had done the same thing before, he could do it again. It just meant piling himself with more work and ignoring Tooru’s hypocritical rants.

“N-n-no!” Suga’s reply was quick and seemed to surprise even himself. Daichi leaned forward, head tilted and eyebrows raised. “I mean… I… oh god… I…” Suga took a deep breath. “I think I like you too.” Heat rose and traveled down Suga’s neck. He stood abruptly. “I should really-”

Daichi understood distance, but he also understood running away. Suga had done both, but he only needed one. Daichi reached out and took Suga’s hand. “Suga,” he said gently. “Let’s sit and talk, just because we… have feelings for one another, doesn’t mean anything has to happen.” Though it would be wonderful if it did, it would be so wonderful. If Suga wasn’t in a place to do so he wouldn’t push it, but in order to figure that out they needed to talk.

Nodding slowly, Suga sunk back into his seat, back straight and muscles tense as if ready to run. Even seated, Daichi didn’t let go of Suga’s hand, resting his arm across the table, and Suga made no move to pull away, though he did eye their clasped hands with something that boarded suspicion.

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Suga replied. “I like you a lot. I do but…”

But his last relationship hadn’t ended well. Daichi gave his hand a little squeeze.

“We can take this as slow as you want to.”

“But it won’t… It’s not going to work,” Suga’s voice broke. “You must realize that.”

Daichi frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I… I don’t…” Suga let out a long breath and dipped his head, refusing to meet Daichi’s gaze. “I don’t want sex.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to have sex I… I _can’t_. I’m sorry.”

So that’s what this was about. Daichi squeezed Suga’s hand again and leaned forward to grab his other hand that was trying to squeeze the life out of his beer glass. “That’s okay, there’s no reason to apologize. There’s more to a relationship than sex, you know?”

Suga glanced up. “It might be okay now but you’re going to get bored and something if things go too far I…”

“Then we’ll find that line and we won’t cross it. Suga, I like you. I want you to be happy and if it means that sex if off the table for now or for forever then, guess what, I’m okay with that.”

“But what if you get bored of me?”

Daichi smiled. “I can already promise you, that’s not going to happen”

The rest of dinner was filled with shy glances, bright smiles, and laughter, lots of laughter. Suga’s laugh was the greatest sound Daichi had ever heard, breathy and light, but what made it better was the way it lit up Suga’s face, brightening his eyes and opening his expression. Daichi wanted to make him laugh forever if it meant that Suga would look that free.

Dinner ended much as it had begun, with them wandering back out of the restaurant into the warm evening. The sun was almost gone but the air was dry and stuffy with smog, but even that couldn’t pull the smiles off their faces.

Without much specification they started down the street towards the restaurant. Daichi was all too aware of Suga’s proximity. The space that used to lay between them was long gone, and every other step Suga’s shoulder would knock into his or their hands would brush, leaving Daichi to feel like a high schooler again, stomach bubbling and heart racing. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.

They stopped off to the side of the restaurant, which was still ablaze with light and laughter. For a moment they just stood off in the shadows, enjoying the proximity to each other.

“Thank you,” Suga mumbled, “for everything.”

“It’s nothing.”

Suga glanced up, his smile warm and bright and Daichi almost melted on the spot. How could Suga ever be worried he would get tired of such beautiful smiles?

There was something in Suga’s eyes, Daichi couldn’t name it, but Suga took a step forward and planted a small kiss on Daichi’s cheek. He pulled away and looked at the floor. “I’ll see you later.”

“Y-yeah… totally,” Daichi stammered.

Suga gave him one more smile before walking to the restaurant. Daichi watched until he disappeared inside, heart hammering and hand on his cheek. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this warm, but it was great. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.


	30. Trial - Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet. Next week's chapter will be the epilogue and then this thing is over! I really can't believe it's come this far. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> TW: breif anxiety mentions

_ Monday, August 1, 2016 _

_ 8:26 am _

 

August first was Yui’s birthday. She would have been turning twenty-six this year. They could have been meeting up. Koushi could have baked a cake. They could have had friends over, or maybe they all would have met at the park to play a little volleyball. Either way, it would have been a day full of laughs and smiles and gifts.

The only place Koushi was going today was the courthouse. Koushi wasn’t sure he believed in a God or multiple Gods. He wasn’t sure he believed in spirits watching over him. How could he after everything that had happened to him? But as he took Yui’s picture out of his wallet, folded it gently, and tucked it into the pocket of his slacks, he couldn’t help but feel as though she was standing there with him.

He gave himself one last look over. A clean, soft blue button down, a jacket he was borrowing from Rosa, and nice slacks. Apparently, you were supposed to look nice in court. At least that’s what Keiji said, which was why he helped Koushi pick out what he was going to wear. As it was, it was too late to change so Koushi had to trust that he was presentable enough for court.

Rosa was waiting for him downstairs, besides her was Daichi. Daichi had to have some sixth sense or something because when Koushi stepped into the main body of the restaurant, he turned around without hesitation and tossed Koushi a warm smile.

“You look put-together.”

Koushi rolled his eyes and planted himself beside Daichi so that their shoulders brushed. “So do you.” Daichi was dressed as he usually was, dark slacks, white shirt, jacket, but now that Koushi was willing – or more willing – to admit Daichi’s attractiveness, he could appreciate the uniform more.

“Ready to go?” Rosa called.

“No!” Another voice shouted from the kitchen. A second later, Shouyou burst through the door, something in hand. Food, as it turned out. “Now I am!”

Koushi glanced to Daichi. “Is he allowed to bring that?”

“As long as he doesn’t eat it in the courtroom,” Daichi replied.

The drive to the courthouse was cramped, even with Daichi taking his own car. Koushi wasn’t used to riding with anyone other than Rosa, so have a very chatting Shouyou was strange. But it kept his mind busy and prevented him from over thinking, so perhaps it was a good thing.

They reached the courthouse in record time. While Koushi had seen it from a distance, he’d never been inside or up close. In fact, he’d done his best to make sure that he stayed as far away as possible. Now that he was in front of the building it looked taller and larger than he had ever imagined. The building was flat and white and reached up towards the sky with the other skyscrapers in the area. Three statutes were hanging over the front doors as if they had been glued to the surface of the building. There were no windows, at least not on the front of the building.

Off the side was a small group of familiar people. Shouyou spotted them first, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him over, yelling and waving. Keiji waved back politely, as did Kenma and Tetsurou, while everyone else stood on awkwardly.

Shouyou pulled Kenma into a quick hug, which caused the younger SOB agent to freeze and hug back awkwardly, before he jumped over to Keiji, no doubt to ask him about being a spy or something. Koushi was a bit too occupied with trying to keep his breath together to try and figure it out.

“How are you feeling?” Tetsurou asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Koushi nodded. “I think I might faint.”

“I’d recommend only doing that once we’re in the courthouse. They actually have carpet,” Tetsurou replied.

Kenma shot a glare at his boyfriend then turned to Koushi. “You’ll be okay. Just breathe and remember that Tooru has your back.”

Koushi nodded and turned his attention to the group of three people, standing off to the side. Shouyou was still jumping around Keiji, but Kenma swept in and pulled the energetic redhead off to the side, hopefully, to calm him down or at least let him run around and get his energy out. Keiji took the chance to approach Koushi. “You got this. Daichi and I will be waiting outside, okay?”

Suga nodded and smiled at his friend. His stomach was still doing backflips at the thought that Daichi and Keiji wouldn’t be in the same room, but they would be there in spirit, like Yui.

Two more figures appeared beside Keiji. Walking down the street, Koushi wasn’t sure he would have recognized Mori or Taka, but it helped that they hadn’t changed much. Mori barely came to Taka’s shoulder, and Taka still wore the same stern expression, the one that made Akaashi look kind.

Koushi tried to force a smile but he could only hold it for a few seconds. “Hey,” he muttered.

Mori gave Koushi a fierce grin, but it was Taka who spoke calmly, “You will be fine, Keiji told us how much you prepared.”

“We’ll be right here to support you,” Mori added.

“Th-thank you,” Koushi mumbled. “And thank you for coming. I’m sorry for not reaching out sooner.”

Mori’s smiled softened and he gave Koushi a slap on the arm that was anything but soft. “You still called. Remember, we’re just three hours south if you need us.”

“Oh! Who’re they?” Shouyou’s voice broke in and a second later the redhead materialized at Koushi’s side.

There was a moment’s pause where it felt like two worlds collided. Mori and Taka watched Shouyou with confused if not amused expression, and Shouyou watched Koushi with pure curiosity. Koushi could lie, but no, he couldn’t, not anymore. His two worlds were clashing and as scary as it was, it was okay.

“These are Morisuke Yaku and Takanobu Aone,” Koushi said, gesturing to them as he said their name. “They’re old friends from college.”

“We’re not old!” Mori huffed.

Keiji snorted and Taka’s eyes lit up, though he remained silent. Shouyou launched into some story, and Koushi took the chance to slip away and breath, or at least try to. His chest was tight and his head was spinning and he still couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. He could only pray that it would go well.

“You’ll be fine, Tesoro,” Rosa said, running a hand down his arm. “We’re all here for you.”

Koushi forced himself to nod. “Yeah… Yeah…”

“Koushi, you look wonderful,” a voice that was much too cheerful called. A moment later, Tooru appeared in front of Koushi, looking up and down. “Keiji, you did a great job. The jury is going to love this.”

Keiji looked unamused but shrugged nonetheless. 

“How are you feeling?” Tooru asked.

Koushi let out a breath. “Sick, if I’m to be honest.”

“You’ll be fine,” Tooru said without missing a beat. “Remember, I’m there to back you up. You aren’t fighting, you’re just telling a story. I’m the one fighting for you.” His eyes snapped to Mori and Taka, and he immediately straightened up and walked over with all the air and sophistication he could muster.

As Tooru introduced himself, Koushi’s eyes wandered over to the police captain standing a bit away from the group. Koushi found himself drifting over to Daichi before he could think.

“Hey,” Daichi smiled.

Koushi couldn’t help but smile back, heat rising to his cheeks. “Hey.”

“You got this,” Daichi said, grabbing his hand and giving it a quick squeeze before pulling away all too soon. “I’m sorry I can’t be there to watch, but I’ll be waiting outside.”

“I know,” Koushi whispered, his free hand feeling for the paper in the pocket. “I know.”

“Go get back to your lawyer.”

Koushi rolled his eyes and turned, but didn’t miss Daichi’s fond smile. It caused his heart to pump a little fast and his shoulders to sink back. Nothing could happen, he would be fine.

Tooru stood in the middle of their little half circle, eyes on Koushi. “Case starts in an hour. We should head in,” Tooru said. “You ready?”

Koushi looked around their small but not-so-small group. Mori and Taka stood off to the side quietly. When he met looked in their direction they gave him large, though nervous, grins. Keiji nodded again, but there was a sharp and familiar glint in his gaze. The look of determination. Kuroo and Kenma stood hand in hand, but looking pleased. When Koushi met Kuroo's gaze, he received a sharp smirk and a thumbs up. Next to them, Rosa stood smiling.

When their eyes met, Rosa crossed the distance between them and pulled Koushi into a tight hug. “Ti voglio bene,” she whispered into his ear. She pulled apart and gave one last squeeze to his hand, a reminder that no matter what happened, he had someone to lean on and a home to return to.

The last gaze he met was Daichi’s. He gave the police captain a nervous smile and Daichi… Daichi stood there, smiling at Koushi, watching as though he was the only thing worth watching. Koushi’s heart jump and his chest felt tight, but the feeling no longer brought panic, just warm comfort.

Koushi turned back to Tooru, hand gripping the picture only he knew was in his pocket. “I think I’m ready.”


	31. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look I actually posted at a reasonable time? What? Well folks, this is the end. I hope you all enjoyed this wild ride of a story, I sure did. Thank you to everyone who read and left wonderful comments, those mean the world to me. Also, special thank you to my good friend Rudolphsd who betaed this entire fic. I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you all again, and I hope you enjoy this final (rather short) chapter.
> 
> TW: mentions of anxiety, mentions of forced prostitution

_ Monday, April 3, 2017 _

 

Soft scents, cool air, and warm laughter were what greeted Koushi as he stepped into the restaurant. He paused for a moment at the door, breathing it in. After a long day of classes, it felt good to roll his shoulders back and relax. Shouyou was the first to notice him and came bounding across the restaurant.

Koushi was about to remind him that he had work to do and they could talk when he took a break of got off, but Shouyou beat him, “Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?”

Taken aback by the excited rambling, Koushi said, “What?”

“Natsu got into Pomona! And she got a full ride!” If the patrons at the restaurant hadn’t heard this already, then they had now. Shouyou didn’t bother to try and keep an inside voice and Koushi couldn’t reprimand him. He was too busy smiling.

“Congratulations. What did I say?”

“With her tuition covered I only have to worry about paying for her medical bills, and with the extra money mom might be able to move into a nicer apartment and get out of South L.A!”

“That’s great,” Koushi replied and meant it. He knew how much this meant to Shouyou and his sister.

“Hinata, get your ass back here!”

“Get back to work before Angie comes and drags you by the ear,” Koushi mumbled, eyeing the girl on the other side of the restaurant. “We’ll talk later. I’m working the evening shift with you.”

Nodding, Shouyou shuffled off back to the tables he was assigned to, and Koushi trudged upstairs to take a shower, change, maybe sit down for two minutes, then trudge back downstairs and get to serving. On any other day, he might complain, but today he couldn't bring himself to stop smiling.

All too soon, Koushi was back downstairs, apron on, standing by the door waiting to let people in. It was a slow night, which was nice because he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep up with anything fast. He could barely keep his eyes open, much less stand. As he leaned against host’s table, he almost missed the man who walked through the door. Someone cleared their throat and Koushi stood straight, embarrassed, but only for a second. 

A smile broke across Koushi’s face as he leaned forward and into Daichi’s space. “What can I do for you this evening?”

“Table for one, please.”

“That’s awfully sad,” Koushi replied, grabbing a menu and walking to Daichi’s usual table in the corner. “Not spending the evening with anyone?”

“I was hoping to spend my evening with a certain waiter.” Daichi winked and Koushi rolled his eyes.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Koushi said, leaning forward as Daichi sat down to give him a kiss on the cheek. “How was work?”

“Fine, did you hear about Tooru’s case?”

Koushi shook his head. “Haven’t had a chance to look at the news. What’s up?”

“Found guilty, again.”

Since the success of Koushi’s own trial, Tooru had been on a rampage. After Koushi testified, more women and men came forth to speak about the White Lilies, and Tomi Murtas even testified against a few members to avoid the death penalty. After just eight months, Tooru had managed to throw five prominent members of the White Lilies into jail, most for life. He was becoming one of the leading gang prosecutors in Los Angeles, which wasn’t surprising to Koushi, not after seeing him in court. Tooru was ruthless, and because of that the White Lilies base in L.A was slowly crumbling. With any luck, in a few years time, they’d be gone for good.

“How was your day?” Daichi asked, his hand slinking forward to grab Koushi’s.

“Good. Class was brutal though. I’ll tell you more about it later, I need to get back to work.” He leaned forward and kissed Daichi on the forehead. Daichi’s grip on his hand only tightened. “I know, I know. I’ll come back during my break.”

Koushi’s break couldn’t come sooner. As much as he’d have loved to linger around Daichi’s table, there were other people who needed to be seated and cards and bills that needed to be added up. It was exhausting, even more so because Koushi had just come back from class, but he couldn’t complain. 

Almost a year after The Incident, as Shouyou so aptly called it, and things were starting to settle down. The reporters were long gone, though letters from supporters or fellow survivors still came in every so often. The panic attacks were there, as was the paranoia, though it was minimized with the medication that Bokuto had prescribed to him. Koushi didn’t know how he felt about the pills, but they helped him on even his roughest days so he couldn’t be too skeptical. The nausea and headaches that came with them could be a pain in the ass, but he’d live.

There were still the night terrors and the dreams. The medicine could only help with so much. Some days he could rack up as many as seven or eight hours of solid sleep, other times, three or four if he was lucky. Of course, he had Rosa and Shouyou and Keiji and Daichi and everyone else to help on those days, when he was so tired or so anxious it was hard to function. They couldn't take away the pain - no one could, Koushi hadn’t expected them to be able to - but they were good company and better listeners.

Daichi was almost done with his meal when Koushi's break finally came. He tossed his apron aside and rushed back to the booth, slipping in across from the police captain. 

“Sorry,” Koushi said, “I didn’t expect another rush there.”

Daichi smiled at him and Koushi’s heart skipped a beat, or twelve. “It’s fine I just… I was hoping to talk to you.”

“Well, I’m here. Knock yourself out.”

Daichi looked from Koushi to the table. “I mean… in private. If that’s alright.”

Ignoring the twisting in his gut, be it good or bad, Koushi nodded. He rose and Daichi followed. “Lead the way,” Daichi said.

Koushi led Daichi into the stairwell and closed the door behind him. He crossed the space and plopped down on the last step. “What did you want to talk about?”

Daichi sat next to him almost cautiously and turned to face him. Koushi did the same. Letting out a breath, Daichi reached forward and grabbed Koushi’s hands without thinking, running his thumbs over Koushi’s knuckles in small circles. “You know how I told you about the apartment? Well the lease is a bit too much so I’m moving, and I found a place but it’s a bit pricy to live alone in.”

Koushi’s breath hitched but he nodded anyway, urging Daichi to continue.

“You don’t have to respond, you can think about it, I have a few weeks, but I was wondering if you wanted to move in with me? The apartment is still in downtown, it’s a few blocks over, and I know it’s not free but-”

“Daichi,” Koushi said gentle, squeezing his hands. “You’re rambling.”

“Sorry,” Daichi mumbled, his cheeks turning red. “I just… I know it’s a lot for you, and you don’t have to do it, I just wanted you to know that the option is there.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“It’s a good thing the option is there because I’d love to take it.”

Daichi stopped shifting, stopped looking around. He froze, eyes trained on Koushi. “Did you just say yes?”

“I’d need to talk with Rosa but I can’t imagine that she’d have a problem with it.”

Daichi dropped his hands, but before Koushi could frown he was pulled into a tight hug. Daichi buried his face in Koushi’s neck and sighed. “I love you so much,” he mumbled and then froze.

Koushi’s heart pounding in his chest, he was sure Daichi could hear it, even as he pulled away slightly, only to press back into Daichi, letting their lips brush against one another for one, second, two seconds, three, before the high became a bit too much. Koushi pulled away, meeting Daichi’s eyes for a second before he pressed their foreheads together. 

Koushi smiled. “That’s good, because I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a wrap everyone! Thank you so much again <3


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